Prevalence Of Menstrual Disorders In Medical Students And Its Correlation With Various Variables

Abstract

The study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence of menstrual abnormalities among the female medical students and their association with lifestyle, psychological stress and college absenteeism. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 200 female students in a medical college in NCR , India, through self-administered structured questionnaire. The data collected on the anthropometric measurements, menstrual history, lifestyle, food habits and psychosocial stress was correlated with menstrual abnormalities and college absenteeism. Inferential statistical analysis such as Chi-square test was carried out using SPSS software. The mean age of menarche was 12.6±1.32 years and mean duration of the cycle was 4.25±0.5 days. The most commonly observed menstrual disorders in the students were dysmenorrhoea (76%), premenstrual syndrome (69%) and irregular menstruation (29%). Habit of consumption of junk food was found in 86.5% of the subjects and 29.5 % students were obese. Dieting and regular exercise was practiced by 39% and 28% of the participants respectively. Increase in BMI was significantly associated with oligomenorrhoea, however no association was established with dysmenorrhea and PMS. Consumption of junk food was associated with oligomenorrhoea, hypomenorrhoea, dysmenorrhea and PMS. Infrequent cycles were reported by students on dieting. Dysmenorrhea and PMS were highly prevalent among students not on regular exercise. 70% of the students with menstrual disorder had difficulty in their routine activities and 31% had to abstain from class/college during menstruation. Stress during the examination was associated with increased prevalence of dysmenorrhoea, irregular cycles and premenstrual syndrome among the medical students. Students with higher BMI and those consuming junk food

revealed higher incidence of irregular menstruation. Highly Significant correlation was found between lack of exercise and consumption of junk food with dysmenorrhea and PMS. Psychological stress was significantly associated with prevalence of various types of menstrual disorders. Dysmenorrhea, PMS, menorrhagia and related stress were the important causes for absence from college. We recommend timely diagnosis and management of menstrual abnormalities with proper advice on diet and exercise, which will improve health, sense of well being and overall quality of life of students and also, lower the risks for future diseases.