Menstrual patterns and disorders among secondary school adolescents in Egypt. A cross-sectional survey

Abstract

BackgroundTo our knowledge, no large population – based studies have been performed on the topic of menstrual patterns among Egyptian adolescent in recent years. The aims of this study were to identify menstrual patterns and associated disorders as well as the sources of menstrual health knowledge among Egyptian adolescents.MethodsA cross-sectional survey. A total of 800 questionnaires were administered to post-menarcheal Egyptian adolescents attending secondary schools in Giza, Egypt, from September 1, 2012, to December 1, 2013. Participants were asked to respond to a semi-structured questionnaire on menstrual health awareness. The questionnaire included items on girl’s socio-demographic and menstrual pattern characteristics, concerning their age at menarche, menstrual cycle length and regularity, duration and amount of flow, type and severity of pain related to menstruation, need for analgesia; and symptoms suggestive of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) Main Outcome Measure: description of menstrual patterns, disorders and source of knowledge.ResultsFour hundred twelve (51.5 %) out of 800 adolescents completed the questionnaire. The mean age of the girls was 14.67 ± 1.7 years. Mean age at menarche was 12.49 ± 1.20 years. 382 respondents reported various menstrual disorders, giving a prevalence rate of 95 %. Dysmenorrhea was the most prevalent (93 %) menstrual disorder in our sample, followed by PMS (65 %), and abnormal cycle lengths (43 %). Menstrual disorders interfered with social and academic life of 33 and 7.7 % of respondents respectively. Most participants lacked menstrual health knowledge and only 8.9 % of girls reported consulting a physician.ConclusionTo the best of our knowledge, this is one of the largest studies on menstrual pattern and disorders among Egyptian adolescent girls. Our Findings of the present study are consistent with other studies and reported higher than expected prevalence of menstrual disorders.

Menstrual disorders and its effect on life activities of secondary school students in Abha, Saudi Arabia

“…[28] Among those with dysmenorrhea, most common medications used were NSAIDs, followed by herbal preparations. Though the most commonly used method, NSAID use in this population was lower than that reported in an Australian study [5] .The pattern of medication use, both herbal and conventional ,is converse to that reported from Ethiopia [27] where more than sixty percent of the respondents use home remedies as a primary management option followed by NSAIDs.…”

Factors Associated with Premenstrual Syndrome and its Different Symptom Domains among University Students in Lebanon

“…Previous research have reported a wide range of PMS prevalence in various countries from 12% in France to 98% in Iran [6]. In the surrounding countries, PMS prevalence was found to be 35.6% in Saudi Arabia among medical students [19], 65% in Egypt among adolescents [20], and 72.1% in Turkey among Medical students [17]. Choi, et al [21] indicated a PMS prevalence of 98.6%, 32.1% and 2.8% in a sample of students whose fathers have no income were more likely to have PMS.…”

Frequency and Affecting Factors of Premenstrual Syndrome Among Turkish Female University Students

“…In Turkey, the age of menarche is between 11-16, with a mean age of 13 year [9]. In our study, the mean age of first menstruation was 13.07±1.07 (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17) years. Of the participants, 66.5% expressed that cold weather increased their premenstrual complaints and 15.9% of them expressed that family problems increase complaints.…”

“…This difference can be attributed to the use of nonstandard scales for research and also by the varying characteristics of study participants, such as age, profession, education level, and sect. Abdelmoty et al declared that dysmenorrhea was the most prevalent (93%) menstrual disorder, followed by PMS (65%) and abnormal cycle lengths (43%), in their study of secondary school adolescents in Egypt [16].…”