Premenstrual symptoms and syndrome according to age at menarche in a 1982 birth cohort in southern Brazil

Abstract

Premenstrual symptoms and syndrome were studied in young women who have been followed since birth. Data were collected on the intensity of four symptoms: irritability, anxiety or stress, depressed mood, and affective lability. Premenstrual syndrome was defined according to intensity of symptoms. Association between age at menarche and premenstrual symptoms and syndrome were investigated through Poisson regression. Adjusted analysis was conducted, controlling for possible confounding factors. The symptoms most frequently reported by the women from the 1982 Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, birth cohort who were interviewed in 2004-2005 were: irritability (52.3%) and anxiety (40.2%). The prevalence rates for moderate and severe premenstrual syndrome were 13.4% and 5.8%, respectively. Mean age at menarche was 12.4 (± 1.5) years. Prevalence rates for symptoms and premenstrual syndrome were higher in women whose age at menarche was less than 11 years, but this difference was not statistically significant. Information on symptoms and premenstrual syndrome is scarce in other studies.

The Prevalence and Symptoms of Premenstrual Syndrome under Examination

“…Previous studies emphasized on the significant relationship between menstruation pain and premenstrual syndrome [38].…”

The Prevalance of Premenstrual Syndrome Among Nursing Students and Affecting Factors

“…Literatürde menarş yaşı küçük olanlarda PMS prevalansının yüksek olduğunu bildiren çalışmalar olmakla birlikte, [15,27] yaş grubuna göre PMS prevalansları arasındaki farklılığın anlamlı olmadığını belirten çalışmalar da bulunmaktadır. [9,28,29] Ayrıca evli olanlarla olmayanlarda PMS prevalanslarının karşılaştırıldığı çalışmaların bazılarında farklılığın anlamlı olmadığı saptanmışken, [15,30] bekarlarda prevalansın yüksek olduğunu belirten çalışma da bulunmaktadır. [18] Bu duruma metodolojik ve araştırma yapı-lan populasyondaki bireysel farklılıkların neden olduğu düşü-nülmektedir.…”

The magnitude, long-term trend and lifestyle risk factors of dysmenorrhea and premenstrual syndrome

“…Results were consistent from all six studies [25,109,110,115,118,123], including one birth cohort study from Brazil, that reported on age at menarche and the risk of PMS/PMDD, with no significant association detected [109]. Although the Brazilian study observed a higher risk of PMS in women whose age at menarche was less than 11 years, this was not statistically significant.…”

“…Five longitudinal [22,25,26,108,109] and 17 community-based cross-sectional studies [110][111][112][113][114][115][116][117][118][119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126] reported on the prevalence and/or incidence rates of PMS/PMDD. The results from the studies are summarised in Table 3-9.…”

“…Due to the limited evidence base, longitudinal studies which follow women over a sufficient period of time are needed to fully elucidate the course of the disorder. [22,108,109,130] examined the associations of the risk factors and PMS/PMDD, taking into consideration the temporal relationship, whereas the others [25,26,131,132] examined the associations in a cross-sectional fashion. In addition, three reports [22,26,132] included largely overlapping study populations, varying slightly in the total sample size; so caution should apply to avoid double counting the evidence.…”