A study of prevalence and impact of dysmenorrhea and its associated symptoms among adolescent girls residing in slum areas of Vadodara city, Gujarat

Abstract

Background: Almost a quarter of India's population comprises of girls below 20 years and dysmenorrhea is a common problem among them. The magnitude of this problem is not clearly known in India. Objective:To estimate the prevalence and impact of dysmenorrhea and its associated symptoms among adolescent girls residing in slum areas of Vadodara city, Gujarat. Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study, a part of field training of third-year medical students where adolescent girls (14-19 years) who experienced menarche for minimum of 1 year at the time of the study, residing in slum areas of Vadodara city were selected purposively and enrolled a sample of 100 adolescent girls. For compiling data, pretested oral questionnaire was used after obtaining written consent from the participants.Result: Prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 75%, which is significantly higher among the girls with family history of dysmenorrhea. School absenteeism in 65%, decreased school performance in 56%, adverse effect on daily routine in 73%, and affected social relations in 64%. Prevalence of associated menstrual symptoms 57% in which most common physical and psychological symptom was lower abdominal pain (42%), and emotional instability (46%), respectively. For relief, only 5% girls consulted the doctor, 28% girls resorted to self-medications whereas almost 65% girls resorted to self-help techniques such as rest and home remedies (e.g., hot fomentation and eating fenugreek). Conclusion:Considering higher prevalence of dysmenorrhea, education on reproductive organs and reproduction to the young girls in their important phase of life is needed to prevent unnecessary suffering and interruptions in their education and daily life.

Menstrual characteristics and its association with socio-demographic factors and nutritional status: a study among the urban slum adolescent girls of West Bengal, India

“…This is in congruence with some other previous Studies (Samir et al 2015;Khodakarami et al 2015;Thapa and Shrestha 2015. Various studies including Kulkarni and Durga (2011); Kumbhar et al (2011); Chauhan and Kodnani (2016) conducted among the slum adolescent girls and also the present study deciphered the high prevalence of dysmenorrhoea and PMS, and its association with BMI. Similar observation was also reported by among the adolescent girls residing in a slum area of western Maharashtra where a significant association has been found between BMI and both of the menstrual disorders.…”

The Prevalence of Dysmenorrhea in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…In some countries such as Turkey (72.7%) (41), India (75%) (42) and Malaysia (74.5%) (43), the prevalence has been reported similar, but in other countries they are different; such as 80% in Australia (44) and Hong Kong (5), approximately 64% in Togo (45), 61% in Saudi Arabia (46) The definition of dysmenorrhea and scales used to determine it, changed the prevalence rate. Without considering the severity of pain, interfering with daily activities, requiring analgesic drugs or absenteeism of school or work, the definition of dysmenorrhea is the presence of pain during menstruation.…”

An analysis of dysmenorrhoea and depressive symptoms in university students: A case‐control study

“…The logistic regression analysis showed that the rate of dysmenorrhoea was twice as high for those who had a family history of dysmenorrhoea than for those who did not. Many other studies have also indicated that family history of dysmenorrhoea is an important risk factor (Chauhan & Kodnani, ; Faramarzi & Salmalian, ; Gagua, Tkeshelashvili, & Gagua, ; Ju, Jones, & Mishra, ; Kural, Noor, Pandit, Joshi, & Patil, ; Ozerdogan et al, ; Pejĉić & Janković, ; Tavallaee et al, ; Unsal et al, ). While some researchers think that this finding indicates that dysmenorrhoea is a behaviour learned from mothers or sisters (Faramarzi & Salmalian, ; Kural et al, ; Pejĉić & Janković, ), others argue for a genetic predisposition for dysmenorrhoea (Wu et al, ).…”

“…Rodrigues et al () found that as pain severity increases, the ability to affect daily life also increases. Previous studies have shown that dysmenorrhoea causes class absences (Chauhan & Kodnani, ; Coşkuner Potur & Kömürcü, ; Ortiz et al, ), as well as limited daily activities (Chauhan & Kodnani, ; Ortiz et al, ) and social relationships (Chauhan & Kodnani, ; Coşkuner Potur & Kömürcü, ). These findings indicate that students should use effective methods to manage and treat dysmenorrhoea.…”

“…Those who presented to emergency services with dysmenorrhoea were not referred from the emergency departments. Previous studies also have found that young women are rarely referred for the evaluation of severe dysmenorrhoea (Aktaş, 2015;Chauhan & Kodnani, 2016;Gagua et al, 2012;Ortiz et al, 2009).…”