[Incidence of dysmenorrhea and associated symptoms in women aged 12-24 years]

Abstract

A Menstrual Symptom Questionnaire was administered to 1,066 women students from Mexico City. The questionnaire included general data and 12 symptoms related to dysmenorrhea. The mean age of the participants was 18 +/- 3.2 years. The mean age of menarche was 12.3 +/- 1.3 years. The prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 52.1% for the group < 15 years of age, 63.8% for women between 15-19 years, and 52.3% for the group of 20-24 years. The frequency of absenteeism as a result of dysmenorrhea in the group < 15 years was 4.3%, 9.3% for the group 15-19 years and 19.8% for the group 20-24 years. Systemic symptoms accompanying dysmenorrhea were clustered for analysis. The most frequent symptoms associated with dysmenorrhea were nervousness, depression, irritability and sleeplessness. Self-medication was prevalent, the most utilized drugs being antispasmodics.