Nutritional Status and Anthropometric Indices in relation to Menstrual Disorders: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Purpose: Dietary habit and body composition can develop risk of menstrual disorders. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between macronutrient intake, anthropometric indices, and menstrual disorders.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 217 women with an average age of 28.8 ± 7.9 years. Anthropometric indices including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and skinfold thickness from all participants were measured. Menstrual cycle characteristics were self-reported. The dietary habits were assessed by using a modified, semiquantitative 147 items Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) by two trained dietitians. Chi-square and independent T-test were used to assess bivariate associations and logistic regression was implemented in SPSS 21.

Results: Most of the participants (52.5%) suffered from at least one of the menstrual disorders including painful menstruation (41%), premenstrual syndrome (PMS) (24.9%), and irregular menstruation (22.1%). The mean of waist circumference in women with no complication was 76.0 ± 11.8 and in women with at least one disorder was 86.7 ± 14.0 (P < 0.001). Our results suggest that women with no disorder consumed less calorie, carbohydrate, protein, and fat in comparison to women with at least one disorder (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the proportion of all kinds of disorders among women, who had overweight or obesity, was significantly higher than women with normal BMI (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: Irregular menstruation, painful menstruation, and PMS were significantly associated with high intake of calories, proteins, carbohydrates, and total fat. Furthermore, menstruation-related complications were worsened by obesity.

Figure 1

The number of women in each type of disorders.