First Consensus Meeting on Menopause in the East Asian Region
Menopause - Vietnam - Country-specific information
Duong Thi Cuong
Institute for the Protection of the Mother and Newborn, Hanoi, Vietnam
1. Demography
The census data of 1 April 1989: 64.4 million (13th most populous nation in the world)
Population in 1996 75,260,000
Male 36,727,000
Female 38,533,000
Crude birth rate 25.3 /1000
Crude death rate 6.7 /1000
Annual growth rate 1.9%
Urban population 20% in 1989
Rural population 80%
male:female sex ratio male:female 95:100
Age structure
Under age 15 39%
Over age 65 5%
Marriage
(Ever) married
at age 25–29: males 76%
females 82%
Mean age at marriage
Males 24.5
Females 23.2
Total fertility rate 3,3
2. Mortality and health
Infant mortality rate 44 /1000
Under five mortality rate 55.4/1000
Births without prenatal care 43.4%
Contraceptive prevalence rate 53.18%
Maternal mortality rate 1.1 /1000
Mortality rate of perinatal disease 40/1000
3. Percent distribution of women by selected characteristics (1994)
Residence
- Urban 21.18%
- Rural 78.82%
Education
- No schooling 8.61%
- Some primary school 19.69%
- Primary school 23.53%
- Lower secondary school 35.15%
- Secondary and higher school 13.03%
Occupation
- White-collar work 5.46%
- Agriculture 58.23%
- Non-agriculture 22.62%
- Not working 13.69%
4. Menopause in Vietnam
Age at menopause is the same as in the rest of Asia, from 49 to 50 years. In contrast to menarche, which commences earlier nowadays (age 11–12), the age of menopause in Vietnam has not changed for hundreds of years.
Menopause in Vietnamese women is associated with fewer and less severe symptoms than in Western countries.
Prevalence of menopausal disorders
- Urban area 25%
- Rural area 10%
Among which complaints of
- Hot flushes 52%
- Vaginal atrophy and dyspareunia 60%
Treatment
- Management at menopause: integrated in GYN clinic
- No treatment 80%
- Tranquillizers 5%
- HRT 15%
(combined oral contraceptives, vaginal estrogen)
- low-dose continuous oestrogen therapy is especially used by younger women with bilateral oophorectomies
- No data about menopause and osteoporosis, hip fracture, breast and endometrial cancer.
Edited by Aldo Campana,