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. 2015 Jul-Sep;4(3):426-31.
doi: 10.4103/2249-4863.161345.

Menstrual characteristics and prevalence of dysmenorrhea in college going girls

MoolRaj Kural  1 , Naziya Nagori Noor  1 , Deepa Pandit  2 , Tulika Joshi  1 , Anjali Patil  1
Affiliations

Menstrual characteristics and prevalence of dysmenorrhea in college going girls

MoolRaj Kural et al. J Family Med Prim Care. 2015 Jul-Sep.

Abstract

Background: Dysmenorrhea is a common gynecological condition with painful menstrual cramps of uterine origin. Prevalence of primary dysmenorrhea is not yet clearly studied in central India.

Objective: To study prevalence of primary dysmenorrhea in young girls and to evaluate associated clinical markers of dysmenorrhea.

Materials and methods: In a cross-sectional study, data was collected among 310 girls (18-25 years) on age at menarche, presence and absence of dysmenorrhea, dysmenorrhea duration, pre-menstrual symptoms (PMS), family history, menses irregularities, menstrual history, severity grading using visual analogue scale (VAS) using a semi-structured questionnaire.

Results: Dysmenorrhea was reported in 84.2% (261) girls and 15.8% (49) reported no dysmenorrhea. Using VAS, 34.2% of girls experienced severe pain, 36.6% moderate and 29.2% had mild pain. Bleeding duration was found to be significantly associated with dysmenorrhea (χ(2) = 10.5; P < 0.05), girls with bleeding duration more than 5 days had 1.9 times more chance of getting dysmenorrhea (OR: 1.9; 95% CI: 1.7-3). Moreover, girls with the presence of clots had 2.07 times higher chance of having dysmenorrhea (OR: 2.07; 95% CI: 1.04-4.1) (P < 0.05). Almost 53.7% girls who had some family history of dysmenorrhea, 90.9% experience the condition themselves (χ(2) = 11.5; P < 0.001). Girls with family history of dysmenorrhea had three times greater chance of having the same problem (OR: 3.0; 95% CI: 1.5-5.8; P = 0.001).

Conclusion: Dysmenorrhea is found to be highly prevalent among college going girls. Family history, bleeding duration and presence of clots were significant risk factors for dysmenorrhea.

Keywords: Dysmenorrhea; prevalence; young girls.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Association of bleeding duration with dysmenorrhea. Black: Bleeding duration <3 days; light gray: Bleeding duration 4–5 days; and dark gray: Bleeding duration >5 days
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association of the presence of clots with dysmenorrhea. Black: Clots present; and gray: Clots absent
Figure 3
Figure 3
Association of family history with dysmenorrhea. Dark gray: Family history Yes; and light gray: Family history No
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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