A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Climacteric Symptoms, Health-Seeking Behavior, and Attitudes towards Menopause Among Mosuo Women and Han Chinese Women in Yunnan, China

Cultural background has been shown to influence climacteric symptoms of women. This study compares various characteristics of climacteric symptoms, illness conception, health-seeking behavior, and attitude towards menopause of Mosuo women, a Chinese ethnic minority with a matriarchal structure, and Han Chinese women, the majority ethnic group of China with a patriarchal structure. Through convenience sampling, 51 Mosuo and 47 Han women ages 40 to 60 completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the modified Kupperman Menopause Index (KMI), the Self-Rating Scale of Illness Conception and Health Seeking Behavior (SSICHSB) and the Menopause Attitude Questionnaire (MAQ). The Mosuo and Han Chinese women are comparable with regard to their age, educational levels and menstrual status. During climacteric, Mosuo women showed less severe melancholia (p = .009), reported less health-seeking behavior (p = .009), and displayed more positive attitudes towards menopause than their Han Chinese counterparts (p < .001). One predictive variable of the melancholia severity in Mosuo was menarche age, while that in the Han group was social view on the menopause. Future research with a larger sample is needed to deepen our understanding about the interaction between culture and climacteric symptoms.