Menstrual problems among adolescent girls in Thiruvananthapuram district

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a transitional stage extending from 10-19 years characterized by rapid physical, mental and sexual changes. It is also characterized by hormonal changes. As girls attain puberty at this age, they have various problems associated with menstruation. Menstruation is a natural phenomenon and an important indicator of women's health reflecting their reproductive function. However data on experiences of menstruation and it's impact on the health status, quality of life and social integration among women in developing countries is scanty. 75% of girls have one or more problems associated with menstruation.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of menstrual problems among school going students in the age group of 12-17 years. 510 adolescent girls of randomly selected government schools in Thiruvananthapuram district were studied by a pretested semi structured questionnaire.Results: Mean age of menarche is 12.2. Out of 510 students 352 have normal menstrual cycles (50.1%). 10% have scanty menstruation, 31% have menorrhagia. Majority of girls (84.8%) has one or other menstrual problems. 33% of girls suffer from dysmenorrhea. Among 510 participants 31.6% reported that menstrual problems affects their daily life activities. 14.7% could not attend the class and 12.8% attend the class without taking medication but not participating in any outdoor activities.Conclusions: Menstrual problems are present in majority of girls in the study group which has some effect on the academic performance and other extracurricular activities in school.

The impact of polycystic ovary syndrome on women’s quality of life: Nursing guidelines for its

“…[45,46] In this respect, Nazeema et al mentioned that the mean age at menarche varies from population to population and is known to be a sensitive indicator of various characteristics including geographical location, environmental conditions, nutritional status in society. [49] The present study has also revealed that more than half (58.7%) of the studied women had irregular menstruation and 78.0% of them suffered from oligomenorrhea. This corresponds well with Zandi et al, who reported that 59.4% and 61.3% of their studied subjects had irregular menstruation and oligomenorrhea.…”

Concomitants of Gynaecological Problem: A Study on Young Married Women of Rural West Bengal

“…Menstrual disorders are common presentation in late adolescence (Omidvar, Amiri, & Bakhtiari, 2018, p. 698). Dysmenorrhea and oligomenorrhea are found to be the commonest of all menstrual disorders among young women (Beevi, Manju, Bindhu, & Haran, 2017, p. 2995Latha et al, 1997, p. 6). Most adolescents experiencing dysmenorrhea have primary dysmenorrhea, defined as painful menstruation in the absence of pelvic pathology (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2018), whereas oligomenorrhea is common in adolescents due to fluctuating hormonal level.…”

Socio-demographic correlates of menstrual problems among school going adolescent girls in a rural block of Haryana

“…5,6 It was comparable to a study by Beevi et al in Thiruvananthapuram district in India and in study of Singh et al conducted in Madhya Pradesh where it was 12.2 years and 12.5 years respectively. 2,7 Age of menarche is dependent on various factors including socioeconomic conditions, environment, genetic factors, and nutritional status of adolescent girls. Moreover, it is observed that age of menarche is decreasing with each passing year.…”

“…Those who attend school during menstruation, do not attend the outdoor activities. 2 Most of the girls who attend school do not take medication for any menstrual issues. There is a definite effect on concentration in school going adolescents during menstruation in studies, which may have direct or indirect consequences of school drop out of such girls.…”