1Department of Nursing, Krishna Institute of Nursing Sciences, Karad, Krishna Vishwa Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Maharashtra 415539, Karad, India.
2Department of Nursing, Krishna Institute of Nursing Sciences, Karad, Krishna Vishwa Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Maharashtra 415539, Karad, India.
3Department of Nursing, Krishna Institute of Nursing Sciences, Karad, Krishna Vishwa Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Maharashtra 415539, Karad, India.
Introduction: Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that by 2030, millions of women will be either premenopausal or postmenopausal, highlighting the need for early identification and effective management of symptoms among menopausal women to improve quality of life.
Aim: To assess the severity of menopausal symptoms and the effectiveness of an interventional package.
Objectives: To assess the severity of perimenopausal symptoms and evaluate the effectiveness of an interventional package on quality of life.
Method: A quantitative approach and a two-group pre-test and post-test research design were adopted. A total of 120 perimenopausal women from a selected rural area of Karad Taluka were selected using purposive sampling and randomly allocated into study and control groups by the lottery method. Six Primary Health Centres and nine villages were selected using the lottery technique. The study group received a structured interventional package comprising a seven-day menopausal diet plan and stretching and strengthening exercises using a Theraband belt, while the participants in the control group received routine care without intervention. Menopausal symptoms were assessed at baseline and at follow-up one, three, and six months post-intervention using the Menopausal Rating Scale and the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) scale was used to assess quality of life.
Results: At the first visit, women aged 40–42 years in the study group demonstrated a higher baseline severity of perimenopausal symptoms compared to the control group, with a predominance of moderate symptoms across most domains. In the study group, hot flushes (52.7%), sleep problems (61.8%), mood swings (65.4%), irritability (52.7%), anxiety (50.9%), and physical and mental exhaustion (38.1%) were largely reported as moderate, with some severe irritability (20%). In contrast, the control group showed a greater proportion of mild symptoms, particularly for hot flushes (44.6%), heart discomfort (30.7%), sleep problems (47.6%), mood swings (49.2%), irritability (52.3%), and anxiety (50.7%), indicating comparatively lower initial severity. By the fourth visit, a marked improvement was observed in the study group following the intervention; women reported mild or no symptoms across psychological, somatic, and urogenital domains. Hot flushes were predominantly mild, and joint and muscular discomfort was mostly mild or absent. The control group continued to experience moderate to severe menopausal symptoms at the fourth visit. Women reported moderate to severe hot flushes (96.8%), sleep problems (89.1%), mood swings (89.1%), irritability (92.2%), anxiety (86.1%), physical and mental exhaustion (58.4%), sexual problems (32.2% moderate to severe), vaginal dryness (66.1% mild to moderate), and joint and muscular discomfort (50.7% moderate to severe).
Discussion: The present study demonstrates that perimenopausal women aged 40–42 years in the menopausal study group initially experienced a higher severity of symptoms compared to the control group, particularly in vasomotor and psychological domains. This finding is consistent with earlier studies reporting that women in the early menopausal transition commonly present with moderate hot flushes, sleep disturbances, mood swings, anxiety, and irritability (Meenakshi Kalhan et al.; Rathnayake et al.; Arya and Treesa; Wang et al.). The comparatively milder somatic and urogenital symptoms observed may be attributed to the younger age of participants and the early stage of menopausal transition, whereas women in the control group experienced moderate to severe symptoms, highlighting the limited impact of routine care.
Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that a structured menopausal diet combined with regular stretching and strengthening exercises is an effective, feasible, and non-pharmacological approach for reducing perimenopausal symptom severity and improving quality of life.
Keywords: Effectiveness, Interventional Package, Quality of Life, Menopausal Symptom, Perimenopausal Women.
How to cite this article: Katti AV, Salunkhe AH, Salunkhe JA. Assessment on severity of menopausal symptom and effectiveness of interventional package on quality of life among perimenopausal women. Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026;16(7s): 794-802; DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.7s.84
Source of support: None
Conflict of interest: None