The prevalence and associated factors of depression during pre-, peri-, and post-menopausal period among the middle-aged women of Dhaka city

Background: Depression is a serious mental health issue and a major concern among middle-aged women, especially during the menopause transition time. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of depression among the middle-aged women of the menopause transition in Dhaka. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 41 to 60 years older women in Dhaka city using a multistage cluster sampling technique and face to face interview. Result: In total 326 middle-aged women participated in the study, and among them, 30.4% had major depression. No statistically significant association was observed between menopause status and major depression. However, peri-(34.2%) and post-menopausal (33.3%) groups were more depressed compared to pre-menopausal (26.8%) groups. Our adjusted analysis indicates, marital status (p = 0.004), having salaried job (p < 0.001), number of offspring (p = 0.003), sedentary hours (p = 0.002), smoking habit (p = 0.012), hypertension (p = 0.012), chronic disease other than diabetes/hypertension (p = 0.006), vasomotor symptoms (p = 0.004) and sleep problem (p = 0.007) were significantly associated with depression status. Conclusion: The study result indicates a high prevalence of major depression among middle-aged Bangladeshi women during the menopause transition. Therefore, depression should be routinely evaluated among middle-aged women for the monitoring and prevention of depression.