Background: Menopause is a universal physiological condition that annually affects more than 500 million
women aged from 42 to 55 years with an average age of 51 years. Aim: this study aimed to assess knowledge and
perception of premenopausal women about menopause. Study design: A cross sectional descriptive design. Setting: the
study was carried out at Mansoura University Hospitals. Study sample: A convenient sample of 382 premenopausal
female employees. Tools: Data was collected using a questionnaire included three parts; part one covered sociodemographic
characteristics, part two covered knowledge about menopause and part three covered perception of
premenopausal women. Results: More than two-thirds of the studied women had poor knowledge regarding causes of
menopause (lack of hormonal production which regulates menstruation and no response of ovaries to follicle stimulating
hormone). Most of them had poor knowledge regarding menopausal symptoms as frequency of urination, depression and
mood swings. Most women had poor knowledge regarding physical coping mechanisms during menopause in addition to
more than three-quarters of them were unaware of hormonal replacement therapy. More than two-thirds of women
expressed hatred and worrying about menopause. Majority of women verbalized that menopausal women are losing their
physical strength and youthfulness. Conclusion: More than one-third of women had poor knowledge and three-quarters
of them had negative perception about menopause. There was positive correlation between level of knowledge and
perception of the studied premenopausal women about menopause. Recommendation: Spreading information to raise
awareness among premenopausal women to improve knowledge and attain positive perception about menopause.