Prevalence of menstrual disorders among adolescent girls in Osogbo, South Western Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Menstrual disorders are common sources of morbidity among adolescent girls and often cause anxiety for these girls and their families.

Objective: This paper aims to determine the patterns of menstruation as well as the prevalence of menstrual disorders and their consequences among adolescent girls in Osogbo, South Western Nigeria.

Subjects: Adolescent school girls aged 10-19 years comprised the sample.

Methods: The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design. A pre-tested, self administered, semi-structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from 402 adolescents selected from private secondary schools in the Osogbo Local Government Area (LGA) of Osun State, using a multistage sampling technique. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 15.

Results: A total of 391 (97.8%) respondents had heard about menstruation before, with the three most important sources of information being their mothers (81.8%), teachers (7.4%), and peer groups (6.1%). The mean age at menarche was 12.5±1.0 years. Menstrual bleeding lasted between 2-7 days in 81.1% and cycle length lasted for 21-35 days in 81.6% of the respondents. The three most important menstrual disorders they experienced were dysmenorrhea (77.8%), menorrhagia (57.4%) and metrorrhagia (18.6%), among others. Menstrual disorders, especially dysmenorrhea, interfered with the daily activities of the respondents.

Conclusion: The prevalence of menstrual disorders among adolescents in the Osogbo LGA is high. Measures should be undertaken to educate the adolescents and their mothers about menstrual disorders and to mitigate their effects on the social and academic lives of these adolescents.