Influence of menstrual pain and symptoms on activities of daily living and work absenteeism: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: To examine the prevalence of menstrual pain among women of reproductive age and its impact on their daily lives and professional responsibilities.

Methods: A cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted in July and August 2022. Phone interviews were carried out using a random system to select women aged between 15 and 49 years old. The questionnaire included sociodemographic variables, contraception method used, characteristics of the menstrual pattern (pain and bleeding amount), its influence on their working life, and if they would need to resort to sick leaves due to the impairments arising from the menstrual symptoms.

Results: A total of 1800 women representative of the Spanish population took part in this study. 72.6% of them report menstrual pain, with 45.9% requiring medication. 35.9% identify their menstrual bleeding as intense or very intense. 38.8% assert that menstrual discomforts affect their everyday life. 34.3% would have required not attending their work activities or having requested sick leave due to the discomforts, although only 17.3% of the women finally requested so, mainly because 58.4% considered that it might imply consequences in their professional environment, especially those with Higher Education. The women who report more discomfort are the youngest ones and those who resort to condoms as a contraceptive method (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Menstrual pain is a prevalent problem among women of reproductive age and can affect their everyday life and professional environment, requiring work leaves on some occasions.

Keywords: Dysmenorrhea; Menstrual leave; Menstruation; Painful menses; Work leave.