Women's voices in the menopause: results from an international survey on vaginal atrophy.

摘要

OBJECTIVES: To consider issues relating to vaginal atrophy via an international survey. METHODS: Using a structured questionnaire, interviews were performed on 4246 women aged 55-65 years living in Sweden, Finland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. RESULTS: Overall, 98% of survey respondents were postmenopausal. Thirty-nine percent of the postmenopausal women had experienced vaginal atrophy, with the prevalence varying between countries, from 34% in Canada to 43% in Finland and the United States. Attitudes towards symptoms also varied between countries. Symptoms were described as moderate or severe by less than half of women from Finland and Sweden, compared with nearly two-thirds of women from the United States. However, vaginal atrophy was deemed to impact on quality of life by a higher proportion of women in Finland and Sweden (>/=60%) than in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada (