Naogaon Medical College Journal · Jun 30, 2026
Psychological and Sexual Symptom Burden and the Sociodemographic Profile of Postmenopausal Women in Rural Magura, Bangladesh: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study
By Kafi AA, Biswas D, Hossain MM et al.
Background: Psychological and sexual symptoms after menopause are shaped by biological transition as well as the social context in which women live. Evidence describing these symptoms together with the social profile of rural Bangladeshi women remains limited. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey included 226 postmenopausal women from villages of Mohammadpur Upazila, Magura District, in October 2023, selected by purposive convenience sampling. A pre-tested semi-structured schedule recorded sociodemographic and menopause-related characteristics and four standalone psychological symptom items graded from none to very severe. A combined sexual-health item (lack of interest in sexual intercourse, vaginal dryness and painful intercourse) included a not-applicable category used in the parent schedule for widowed or separated women. The validated Menopause Rating Scale was not administered, and official MRS domain scores were not calculated. Frequencies, severity thresholds, item means and descriptive social-context markers were summarised. No inferential tests of association were performed. Results: Physical and mental exhaustion was the most prevalent psychological symptom (76.55%), followed by irritability (71.68%), anxiety (68.14%) and depressive mood (67.26%). Moderate-or-worse exhaustion affected 37.61% of the cohort. Among the 171 women for whom the combined sexual-health item (interest, vaginal dryness and painful intercourse) was applicable, 79.53% reported a complaint, 50.29% were moderate-or-worse and 22.22% were severe. The cohort was characterised by illiteracy (63.72%), housewife status (91.15%), income <=20,000 Taka/month (69.03%), four or more children (52.65%) and more than 10 years since menopause (51.33%). The aggregate psychological sum of marginal item means was 4.48/16. Conclusion: Psychological symptoms were common, and sexual symptoms were frequent among women to whom the item applied. The findings show a substantial symptom burden within a rural cohort characterised by low literacy, predominantly domestic occupation, modest household income, high parity and long duration since menopause. Community-based menopause care should integrate psychological and sexual-health assessment with routine counselling and primary-care services.