The Effect of Cessation of Menstruation on Physical Health: A Study of Indian Women

Angad Singh , International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Dipti Govil, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

Unit level data from NFHS-IV (2015-16) has been used to examine the spatial distribution, socio-economic a, and demographic determinants of hysterectomy and its Impact in India. Multilevel logistic regression, Local Moran’s Index, LISA techniques a, and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) techniques were used. The prevalence of hysterectomy was 3.2% in India; highest in south Indian states especially in Andhra Pradesh (8.9%) and lowest in Assam (0.9%). The mean age at hysterectomy was 34 years. Moran’s-I (0.58) indicates the positive auto-correlation for the prevalence of hysterectomy among districts; a total of 207 districts had a significant neighborhood association. Variation in prevalence of hysterectomy was attributed to the factors at PSU, District, and State level. Parity, age at sterilization, low age at first cohabitation, wealth, insurance and empowerment were positively associated with the prevalence of hysterectomy. Majority women underwent the operation in Private hospitals. The primary reason was excessive menstrual bleeding. The prevalence of selected morbidities, i.e., hypertension, asthma, thyroid, cancer, obesity, heart diseases, and diabetes, was higher among women with hysterectomy than menopausal and menstruating women. Results of PSM highlights the increasing risk of developing morbidities if women undergo hysterectomy; for example, the value of ATE (2.32) indicates that the chances of diabetes increased by 23% if women have hysterectomy operation. Unnecessary hysterectomy at younger ages may deteriorate the quality of life of women.

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 Presented in Session P2. Poster Session Ageing, Health and Mortality