Evaluation of depression, social support and quality of life in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women in semi-rural Turkey

Background This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women in a semi-rural area in a city in Turkey and to evaluate perceived social support and quality of life by examining some of the variables thought to be related. Methods The study was conducted on 827 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women aged 40-60 years. The questionnaire included sociodemographic characteristics, some variables associated with depression, questions from the Beck Depression Inventory, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and European Health Impact Scale - Quality of Life-8 (EUROHIS-QOL-8) scale. Results The prevalence of depression was 23.1% (n = 191) in the study. The prevalence of depression was found to be higher in single/widowed/separated individuals (odds ratio (OR): 2.539; 95% CI: 1.593-4.047) and at poor income levels (1.980; 1.000-3.021). The frequency of depression was found to be lower in those who gave birth once or twice (0.470; 0.294-0.752), those with a high level of social support (0.959; 0.948-0.971), and those with a high level of QOL (0.836; 0.794-0.879). There was a moderate negative correlation between the depression scale and QOL scale scores (r = -0.405, P = 0.001). A weak negative correlation was found between depression and social support scores (r = -0.383, P = 0.001). Conclusion Women are more vulnerable to depression in premenopausal and postmenopausal periods. Being single/widowed, having a poor income level, having low social support, and low QOL are important risk factors which increase the frequency of depression.