Health and Perimenopausal Characteristics in Middle-Aged Immigrant Women: A Literature Review

This study aims to clarify the health and perimenopausal characteristics of immigrant women through a literature review and provide a basis for future health promotion activities.

The literature databases used for this review were PubMed and Cochrane. To identify relevant studies focusing on the health and perimenopausal characteristics of immigrant women, an initial screening was conducted in PubMed using specific keywords such as immigrant women and perimenopausal. In Cochrane, 14 studies were identified using the search term perimenopausal, but none specifically targeted immigrant women. For the 13 studies extracted from PubMed, a secondary screening was performed, narrowing the selection to studies published within the past 20 years. After excluding studies focused on patients and conference proceedings, nine studies were included for analysis.

No studies specifically targeting foreign residents in Japan were identified. All nine studies included postmenopausal participants and used methods such as individual interviews or large-scale national surveys to ask about perceptions of menopausal symptoms. Additionally, three studies included questions related to health literacy. Despite the diversity of the studies, their results were generally consistent. Immigrant women were reported to experience more physical symptoms specific to menopause and had poorer mental health outcomes compared to non-immigrant women.

The findings highlight the lack of research focusing on foreign residents in Japan, an area that requires further investigation. Although the studies varied in methodology, they consistently reported that immigrant women face more severe menopausal symptoms and worse mental health than their non-immigrant counterparts. Considering the cultural context in Japan, where discussing menopausal symptoms openly is less common than in other countries, it is crucial to explore how immigrant women in Japan perceive and manage these symptoms. Further research is needed to propose culturally appropriate care strategies that address these challenges.

This study highlights the importance for physical therapists to adopt culturally sensitive approaches when addressing menopausal symptoms, particularly in the growing population of foreign residents in Japan, to aid in disease prevention.