Joylene Diana D
Dysmenorrhea or pain during menstruation is the most common gynaecological complaint among adolescents and college students. A good majority of patients with dysmenorrhea also experience pre-menstrual symptoms (PMS). The objective of this cross sectional study was to assess prevalence of dysmennorhea, PMS, college absenteeism and knowledge attitudes and practices relating to the same among college going students between the age of 18 to 26 years. METHODS: A cross sectional analysis of a total of 420 students using questionnaires related to dysmenorrhea was done. The questionnaire dealt with the regularity of menstrual cycles, occurrence of dysmenorrhea, college absenteeism, premenstrual symptoms and lifestyle attributes of the students. RESULTS: The prevalence of dysmenorrhea of varying degrees was found to be as high as 97 percent. Dysmennorhea was seen in 45.8 percent of students with regular cycles and 97.7 percent of students with irregular cycles. 47.5 percentage of students missed their college working days due to menstruation related complaints. Among the students who had pre-menstrual syndrome, majority of them revealed life style attributes like eating fast food and also consuming over the counter pain medicines. Also psychological and emotional changes were commonly seen during the premenstrual phase. CONCLUSION: This study showed that though dysmennorhea of varying degrees is widely prevalent among college going students, the prevalence of pre-menstrual syndrome was higher. The study suggests that adequate counseling and education about menstrual symptoms and abuse of OTC analgesics if made a part of college curriculum as well as lifestyle modifications could come a long way in helping to alleviate the problems college students face due to dysmennorhea and PMS.
