International Journal of Health Sciences & Research (www.ijhsr.org) 29 Vol.3; Issue: 3; March 2013 International Journal of Health Sciences and Research www.ijhsr.org ISSN: 2249-9571 Original Research Article Health Problems of Women above Forty Years of Age in Rupandehi District of Nepal Dilaram Acharya 1* , Salila Gautam 1 , Nirmala Neupane 2 , Hari Prasad Kaphle 3 , Jetendra Kumar Singh 4 1 Department of Public Health, Sanjeevani College of Medical Science, Butwal, Rupandehi, Nepal 2 Masood College of Nursing, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore- 564001, Karnataka, India. 3 Department of Public Health, School of Health and Allied Sciences, Pokhara University, Lekhnath, Kaski, Nepal 4 Department of Community Medicine, Janaki Medical College and Research Center Pvt.Ltd * Correspondence Email: dilaramacharya123@gmail.com Received: 28/01//2013 Revised: 27/02/2013 Accepted: 06/03/2013 ABSTRACT Introduction: Many women over the age of forty years experience symptoms associated with the transition of menopause. At the same time, these women face increased risk of morbidity due to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and other chronic diseases. In combination, these changes can lead to psychological problems that affect their quality of life. The study was conducted to find out physical, psychological and menopausal problems among women above 40 years of age. Methods: This was community based cross-sectional study, conducted in two purposively selected VDCs of Rupandehi District. A total number of 300 women above forty years were interviewed by using semi structured interviewed schedule. Data were analyzed by using SPSS software version 12 Results: The mean age of menopause was 46.81 years. General health problems as reported by respondents were gastritis (38.3%), headache (33.3%), eye problems (32%), sleep disturbance (30.7%) and musculoskeletal problems (27.3%) followed by hypertension (19%), diabetes (17.7%). Menopausal problems as reported by respondents were dizzy spell (44.78%), hot flushes (23.88%), painful period (19.40%) were more common in the age group 40-44 and palpitation (53.64%), history of fracture (44.90%), cold hand and feet (10.20%) were more common in the age group 50-54. Psychological problems were found most common in the age group 60 and above. Conclusion: Large efforts are required to educate and make these women and community aware of health problems of this segment of population. Family members need to be more responsive to their needs during this period in their lives. Proactive measures need to be taken to avoid health related problems like health diet, regular exercise, yoga, meditation and regular checkups to avoid problems and for early diagnosis and management of the problems as and when they arise. Keywords: Menopause, Menopausal problems, Hot flushes.