Menopause symptoms, sexual dysfunctions and pelvic floor disorders in refugee and asylum seeker women: a scoping review

Abstract

Refugee and asylum seeker women face a variety of health challenges. However, little is known globally about health problems in these women at midlife and beyond, including menopausal symptoms, sexual dysfunctions and pelvic floor disorders. This scoping review aimed to understand these neglected health issues with respect to prevalence and risk factors. Eight databases were searched in August 2022 without the limit of publication year. Data were analyzed narratively. A total of 10 reports from seven studies were included with 945 women living in Australia, Canada, the USA and Pakistan. Three reports were addressing menopause, seven addressed sexual dysfunctions and one addressed pelvic floor disorders. There were no data regarding menopause symptoms; however, perceptions of menopause varied widely across studies. Few studies reported a high prevalence of sexual dysfunctions and pelvic organ prolapses, but none of them used a validated questionnaire. Taboos and cultural factors, lack of knowledge and education, lack of family support, language insufficiency and financial problems were common barriers to not seeking care for these health issues. This review demonstrates lack of evidence of these neglected health issues in refugee and asylum seeker women at midlife, and further studies with validated questionnaires and larger samples are warranted.

摘要

难民和寻求庇护的女性面临着各种健康挑战。然而, 全球对这些女性中年及以后的健康问题知之甚少, 包括更年期症状、性功能障碍和盆底疾病。这项范围综述旨在了解这些被忽视的健康问题的患病率和风险因素。2022年8月检索了8个数据库, 不受发表年份的限制。对数据进行叙述性分析。共有来自7项研究的10份报告, 涉及居住在澳大利亚、加拿大、美国和巴基斯坦的945名女性。3份报告涉及更年期, 7份涉及性功能障碍, 一份涉及盆底疾病。没有关于更年期症状的数据；然而, 在不同的研究中, 对更年期的看法差异很大。很少有研究报告性功能障碍和盆腔器官脱垂的高发, 但没有一项研究采用了有效的问卷调查。禁忌和文化因素、缺乏知识和教育、缺乏家庭支持、语言不足和经济问题是不寻求治疗这些健康问题的常见障碍。这篇综述表明, 在难民和寻求庇护的中年女性中, 缺乏这些被忽视的健康问题的证据, 有必要通过有效的问卷和更大的样本进行进一步的研究。

Keywords:

• Menopause
• sexual dysfunctions
• pelvic floor disorders
• refugees
• asylum seekers

Potential conflict of interest

S.R.D. has been paid for developing and delivering educational presentations for Besins Healthcare, Abbott, Mayne Pharma, BioFemme and Lawley Pharmaceuticals; has been on Advisory Boards for Theramex, Abott Laboratories, Mayne Pharma, Gedon Richter and Roche Diagnostics; is a consultant to Lawley Pharmaceuticals, Southern Star Research and Que Oncology; and has received institutional grant funding for Que Oncology and Ovova Bio research. E.F. and R.M.I. have received support from Lawley Pharmaceuticals for conference attendance. M.J. has no potential conflicts of interest to declare.

Source of funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.