ORIGINAL ARTICLE

https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10084-12127
Pondicherry Journal of Nursing
Volume 12 | Issue 4 | Year 2019

Effectiveness of Soybean vs Chickpea on Menopausal Symptoms among Women in Selected Rural Areas, Puducherry, India

R Iniyaval¹, S Lavanya², K Renuka³

^1,2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Nursing, Kasturba Gandhi Nursing College, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Puducherry, India
³Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Kasturba Gandhi Nursing College, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth,, Puducherry, India

Corresponding Author: Lavanya S, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Nursing, Kasturba Gandhi Nursing College, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Puducherry, India, Phone: +91 9994747440, e-mail: lavanyas@kgnc.ac.in

How to cite this article Iniyaval R, Lavanya S, Renuka K. Effectiveness of Soybean vs Chickpea on Menopausal Symptoms among Women in Selected Rural Areas, Puducherry, India. Pon J Nurs 2019;12(4):82–86.

Source of support: Nil

Conflict of interest: None

ABSTRACT

Introduction: An average Indian woman spends almost one-third of her life span in the postmenopausal phase enduring the consequences of hormonal decline. About 89.3% menopausal women experience at least one or more menopausal symptom(s). Soybeans and chickpeas naturally contains the phytoestrogens that are used to mitigate the menopausal problems. Hence, to ensure a quality life to these women, attention needs to be focused on menopausal problems to alleviate these problems through appropriate interventions. Natural estrogens can be very helpful during menopause to mitigate the problems.

Objective: To evaluate and compare the effectiveness of soybean vs chickpeas on menopausal symptoms among women.

Materials and methods: True experimental research design was adopted for the study. A total of 150 menopausal women were selected by the purposive sampling technique with randomization (50 samples in each group). Group I received soybean, group II received chickpea, and group III was the control group. Pretest and posttest were done by using the Greene Climacteric Menopausal Assessment Scale. About 50 g of boiled soybean and chickpea were given to group I and group II for 21 days, respectively.

Results: The findings implicate that the menopausal women were in the age group of 49–52 years. The pretest mean standard deviation for the level of menopausal symptoms of the soybean group was 67.0 ± 4.745 and posttest was 33.4 ± 6.021. The pretest mean standard deviation for the level of menopausal symptoms of the chickpea group was 66.8 ± 4.929 and posttest was 43.2 ± 7.301. Soybean and chickpea were effective in reduction of menopausal symptoms in both group I and group II. Results show that the t value for group I was 32.4 and group II was 22.60, which was significant at p < 0.001 level.

Conclusion: The study concludes that soybean was effective in reduction of menopausal symptoms among women than chickpea.

Keywords: Chick pea, Menopausal symptoms, Soybean.

INTRODUCTION

According to the Indian Menopause society, the number of menopausal women is approximately 43 million and it may reach 103 million by 2026.^1,2 Menopausal women are the most vulnerable group affected due to physiological changes especially with an estrogen-deficient state and is susceptible to various vasomotor, psychosocial, physical, and sexual symptoms,^3–5 which can significantly affects the quality of life and decline their perceptions of well-being (Fig. 1).⁶

Fig. 1: Percentage of menopausal women in India

Administration of estrogen can aid in managing the menopausal symptoms.⁷ Various studies have proven that phytoestrogen is the natural estrogen that is found in soybean and chickpea.^8–10 Instead of pharmacological management, reduction of menopausal symptoms can be achieved by the supplementation of soybean and chickpea.^10–12 The main responsibility goes to nurses for providing comprehensive health care to them and they must bring newer strategies to promote the women support in India to develop health and well-being.^12–15 This study examines the currently available evidence supporting the use of soybean and chickpea for alleviating the menopausal symptoms.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the menopausal symptoms among women
To evaluate the effectiveness of soybean vs chickpea on menopausal symptoms among women
To compare the effectiveness of soybean vs chickpea on menopausal symptoms among women.
To find out the association between menopausal symptoms among the women with the selected demographic variables

HYPOTHESES

H₁—Menopausal symptoms differs among women before and after soybean vs chickpea supplementation.
H₂—Effectiveness of soybean vs chickpea supplementation differs among women with menopausal symptoms.
H₃—Menopausal symptoms differ among women with the selected demographic variables.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The quantitative research approach was adopted with true experimental research design. The setting of the study was selected rural areas in Puducherry. Population was women with menopausal symptoms. Sampling size was 150 samples (50 samples in each group) and was calculated by using the power analysis method. The samples were selected based on the inclusion criteria. The sampling technique used was the purposive sampling technique with the randomization lottery method. Women who are picking up the lot A are group I and were administered with 50 g of boiled soybeans, women getting lot B are group II and were administered with 50 g of boiled chickpeas, and women who are picking lot C are group III and were in daily routine. The duration of intervention is 3 weeks (21 days).

Flowchart 1: Research methodology

Pretest and posttest was conducted using the tool that consists of two sections. Section I—demographic variables, Section II—Modified Greene Climacteric Assessment Scale for menopausal symptoms. Data were collected using the interview schedule from all the samples. The components of the Modified Greene Climacteric Assessment Scale include the physiological and psychological symptoms of menopause. The menopause symptoms were assessed with the tool and were graded into mild, moderate, and severe symptoms. The SPSS 16 Epidata version 2.2.2.186 was used for the data analysis. Data analysis and interpretation was done by descriptive statistics: frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and inferential statistics: paired t test, independent t test, and Chi-square test (Flowchart 1).

RESULTS

Major Findings

Description of demographic variables among menopausal women: majority of women in group I (26; 52%), group II (29; 58%), and group III (24; 48%) were between 49 years and 52 years of age.
Assessment of level of menopausal symptoms among women: Figures 2 to 4 shows the percentage wise distribution of pretest and posttest of menopausal symptoms among women.
- Group I: In the pretest, 43 (86%) participants had severe menopause symptoms and 7 (14%) had moderate menopausal symptoms. In the posttest, average of 27 women (54%) had moderate rates of menopausal symptoms and 23 (46%) had mild rates of menopausal symptoms.
- Group II: In pretesting, the majority of women (38; 76%) had extreme menopause symptoms and 12 (24%) had moderate menopause symptoms. During the posttest, 40 participants (80%) had moderate rates of menopausal symptoms and 10 (20%) had mild rates of menopausal symptoms.
- Group III: In the pretest, 38 (76%) females had extreme rates of menopausal symptoms and 12 (24%) had moderate levels of menopausal symptoms and in the posttest, 33 (66%) females had serious levels of menopausal symptoms and 17 (34%) had moderate levels of menopausal symptoms.
- Soybean and chickpea therefore have been successful in reducing menopausal symptoms.
Evaluation of soybean, chickpea, and control effectiveness among women’s menopausal symptoms: Figure 5 presents a distinction between the pre- and posttest of menopausal symptoms in groups I, II, and III people.
- Statistics show that the t value for group I was 32.4 and group II was 22.60, which was significant at p = 0.001 and for group III t was 2.124, which was marginally significant at p = 0.039, respectively. There is a major difference between soybean and chickpea supplementation in pre- and posttest values for group I and group II, respectively. Both soybean and chickpea supplementation has therefore been successful in reducing menopausal symptoms among women in group I and group II.
Comparison of the effectiveness of soybean, chickpea, and control groups on menopausal symptoms among women:
- Table 1 indicates that in group I the mean score for menopausal symptoms was 33.48 ± 6.021 and in group II was 43.28 ± 7.301. In post test, the independent ‘t’ test value −7.322 and p value 0.001 indicates statistically highly significant between group I and group II.
- The mean score of menopausal symptoms was 43.28 ± 7.301 in group II and 65.96 ± 5.529 in group III. In post test, the independent ‘t’ test value −17.51 and p value 0.001 indicates statistically highly significant between group II and group III.
- The mean score level of menopausal symptom was 65.96 ± 5.529 in group III and 33.48 ± 6.021 in group I. In post test, the independent ‘t’ test value 28.09 and p value 0.001 indicates statistically highly significant between group III and group I.
Association of the level of menopausal symptoms among women with selected demographic variables:
- Using Chi-square test, there is no substantial correlation between demographic variables and the level of menopausal symptoms among women in group I, group II, and group III. Therefore, menopausal symptoms did not vary among women with selected demographic variables.

Fig. 2: Percentage distribution of pretest and posttest of the level of the menopausal symptoms among women in group I (soybean)

Fig. 3: Percentage distribution of pretest and posttest of the level of the menopausal symptoms among women in group II (chickpea)

Fig. 4: Percentage distribution of pretest and posttest of the level of the menopausal symptoms among women in group III (control)

Fig. 5: Comparison of the pretest and posttest of the level of the menopausal symptoms among women in groups I, II, and III

**Table 1**: Comparison of the group I vs. group II vs. group III in the posttest level of menopausal symptoms among women (n = 150)
Posttest level of menopausal symptoms	Groups	Mean	Standard deviation	t value independent t test	p value
1	Group I	33.48	6.021	−7.322	0.001^*
	Group II	43.28	7.301
2	Group II	43.28	7.301	−17.51	0.001^*
	Group III	65.96	5.529
3	Group III	65.96	5.529	28.09	0.001^*
	Group I	33.48	6.021

* p < 0.001 highly significant

DISCUSSION

The present study reveals the effectiveness of soybean vs chickpea on menopausal symptoms among women in selected rural areas of Puducherry.

The first objective of the study was to assess the level of menopausal symptoms among women.

The pretest and the posttest values in groups I, II, and III show that the level of menopausal symptoms differs among women before and after soybean, chickpea, and control groups. Hence, the stated hypothesis (H₁) was accepted.
An experimental study was conducted by Ms Rukmani (2010); in her study majority of menopausal women (60%) had moderate symptoms, 40% of women had severe symptoms during pretest, whereas in posttest after the supplementation of soybeans all menopausal women (100%) had moderate symptoms and no one had severe symptoms.

The second objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of soybean, chickpea, and control on menopausal symptoms among women.

There is significant difference between pretest and posttest values of soybean and chickpea supplementation in group I and group II, respectively. Therefore, both soybean and chickpea supplementation was effective in reduction of menopausal symptoms among women in group I and group II. Through the mean score, soybean was more effective than chickpea in reduction in the level of menopausal symptoms among women. Hence, the stated hypothesis (H₂) was accepted.
This objective was supported by Ms Manubaikam (2007), who conducted study in Coimbatore to evaluate the effectiveness of soybeans consumption on menopausal symptoms among women between 45 and 56 years in the experimental group. It revealed that posttest mean value 11.5 was less than the pretest mean value 14.5 in the experimental group. The obtained t test value 7.761 was highly significant at 0.05 level. The study findings revealed that soybeans is effective in reducing menopausal symptoms among postmenopausal women.

The third objective of the study was to compare the effectiveness of soybean, chickpea, and control on menopausal symptoms among women.

The mean score and the calculated independent t test value show that the level of menopausal symptom was statistically highly significant at p < 0.001. This indicates that effectiveness of soybean, chickpea, and control differs comparatively among women in groups I, II, and III.

The fourth objective of the study was to find out the association between level of menopausal symptoms among the women with the selected demographic variables.

By using the Chi-square test, there is no substantial correlation between demographic variables and the level of menopausal symptoms among women in group I, group II, and group III. Therefore, menopausal symptoms did not vary among women with selected demographic variables. Therefore, the stated hypothesis (H₃) was rejected.
The present objective was opposed by Mrs Manubaikm (2007), in which there is no association found between menopausal symptoms and their selected demographic variables such as age, religion, education, occupation, family type, income, marital status, and dietary pattern.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that the menopausal women were in the 49–52 year age range. The pretest mean standard deviation for level of menopausal symptoms of group I was 67.0 ± 4.745 and posttest was 33.4 ± 6.021. The pretest mean standard deviation for the level of menopausal symptoms of group II was 66.8 ± 4.929 and in posttest was 43.2 ± 7.301. Soybean and chickpea were effective in reduction of menopausal symptoms in both group I and group II. Results show that the t value for group I was 32.4 and group II was 22.60, which was significant at p < 0.001 level. The study concludes that soybean was more successful than chickpea in reducing menopausal symptoms among women. Therefore, soybean and chickpea have been effective in reducing the effects of menopause. Soybean, by comparison, has been more effective in alleviating women’s menopause symptoms than chickpea.

SCIENTIFIC IMPLICATION AND RECOMMENDATION

A similar study may be replicated on a large sample, thereby findings can be generalized for a large population.
Soybean and chickpea should be administered by the health centers for the well-being of the menopausal women.
Have to improve postmenopausal women’s quality of life by creating awareness about postmenopausal symptoms and their treatment by taking steps for lifestyle modifications.

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