Gynecology & Obstetrics
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0932
ISSN: 2161-0932
Mitra-Tadayon, Hosna-kalhoor and Nahid-Javadifar
Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Iran
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Gynecol Obstet
Background: The most common symptom in early menopausal women is depression. Depression is a type of chronic disease that impacts on postmenopausal women��?s life. Social support plays a protective role for women and enables them to solve their life problems and thus, feel less depressed. Objectives: We assessed depression as a chronic disease and evaluated the association between perceived social support and depression in postmenopausal women. Patients & Methods: This correlation-analytic study was conducted on 321 postmenopausal women using 2-stage cluster sampling in Ahvaz in 2014. Data collecting instruments were comprised of a demographic questionnaire, a depression scale (Beck Depression Inventory-II), and a social support questionnaire (PRQ 85-Part 2). Data analysis was done using SPSS, version 20. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the relationship between perceived social support and depression, and the �?2 test was employed to assess the relationship between perceived social support and demographic characteristics. Results: The Spearman correlation test revealed a significant reverse relationship between perceived social support and depression (r=-0.468; P=0.001). There were significant relationships between perceived social support and some personal variables such as marital status, education level, and job status (P<0.05). However, there were no significant relationships between perceived social support and some other personal characteristics such as income and ethnicity (P>0.05). Conclusions: We found a reverse relationship between perceived social support and depression in postmenopausal women.
Mitra Tadayon is a Master of Midwifery and is graduated from Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran. She is a faculty member of Reproductive Health Promotion Research Center and menopause and andropause research center.
Email: mitratadayon2000@yahoo.com