Characteristics and Determinants of Primary Dysmenorrhea in Young Adults

Abstract

Problem statement: Dysmenorrhea is believed to be on rise affecting activities of women adversely. It was considered worthwhile to identify risk factors for dysmenorrhea, since such information is useful in designing management process. Approach: A Cross-sectional study was conducted on 500 healthy females aged 18-28 years. Standardized Self-reporting questionnaires were used to obtain relevant data. The categorical data was analyzed using Chi-sq, correlation and regression analyses by SPSS version 16. Results: Majority (72.9%) of the participants experienced menstrual pain. More than 50% dysmenorrheic subjects experienced pain every menstrual cycle. Among the factors studied menstrual flow, length of flow and family history exhibited positive association while family size had an inverse association to a significant extent (p = 0.01 ). BMI, SFT did not exhibit significant effect, where as time spent in standing was significantly correlated to pain. Dysmenorrheic women scored significantly higher for all the subscales on menstrual attitude questionnaire, wherein certain components describing menstruation as debilitating event or predictability had high score significant at 1% level. Conclusion: Dysmenorrhea is becoming a highly debilitating event among young adult females with an increasing prevalence rate. The notorious determining factor may be the family history baring significant association to dysmenorrhea. Attitude towards menstruation and the posture is important contributory factors.