Abstract

Purpose: This research was conducted to determine the frequency of vaginal infections and perceived stress levels of menopausal women.

Materials and methods: The research was conducted descriptively with 105 menopausal women who applied to Kırıkkale Yüksek İhtisas Hospital Gynecology and Obstetrics outpatient clinic. The data was collected between 07 March and 30 November 2022 using the “Introductory Information Form and Perceived Stress Scale”. Independent two-sample t test, Mann Whitney U test, Kruskall Wallis H test, and one-way analysis of variance were used to analyze the data.

Results: In this study, the median age of women is 60 (42-80) and the median age at menopause is 48 (27-58). It was determined that 52.4% of them currently had a vaginal infection. In 19% of women, cheesy discharge similar to white milk curds, in 11.4%, yellowish/greenish discharge, in 5.7%, grayish-white discharge with a small amount and in 21.9%, there is an increase in the amount of discharge, in 14.3%. It was determined that 17.1% of the patients had itching in the chamber and 17.1% of them had vulvar itching. It was determined that 9.5% of women had foul-smelling discharge, 4.8% had fishy discharge, and 9.5% had yeasty discharge. As a result of the research, the median total score of menopausal women on the perceived stress scale was determined as 26 (9-48). A statistically significant difference was found between the median values of the perceived stress scale score according to the complaints of foul-smelling discharge and painful urination in menopausal women (p<0.05).

Conclusion: It is recommended that healthcare professionals evaluate the frequency of vaginal infections and perceived stress levels of women during menopause in order to increase the quality of life of menopausal women.