Mahnaz Ashrafi - Department of Endocrinology and Female Infertility, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Tehran, Iran
Saeed Kazemi Ashtiani - Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
Farideh Malekzadeh - Department of Endocrinology and Female Infertility, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.Department of Epidemiology and Reproductive Health, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
Elham Amirchaghmaghi - Department of Endocrinology and Female Infertility, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.

Background: Menopause is a step of a woman’s life when hormonal changes cause menstruation to stop permanently. Menopausal symptoms can affect women's health and differ between different races and societies.Objective: The aim of this study was to survey the symptoms associated with menopause among Iranian women living in Tehran, Iran.Materials and Methods: In this cross sectional study which has been done between 2004 and 2005, women aged equal or more than 35 years old living in districts of Tehran were selected by multistage randomized cluster sampling. For each woman a questionnaire was completed. The data gained from each questionnaire was analyzed by using SPSS version 13.Results: At time of study, 2462 women were naturally menopause. The mean age of natural menopause onset was 47.71 (SE=0.11) years. In 52.9% of cases, the onset of menopause was sudden. The symptoms associated with menopause were night sweats (61.2%), joint and muscle pain (59.9%), hot flashes (53.1%), fatigue (45.6%), decreased libido (33.9%), insomnia (33.7%), weight gain (30.1%), forgetfulness (24.9%) and urinary symptoms (17.4%).Conclusion: This study showed that night sweats, joint and muscle pain and hot flashes are the most common symptoms associated with menopause.

Age, Menopause, Symptoms, Hot flashes, Night sweats