Is school bullying linked to premenstrual disorders in adolescent girls?

Background: School bullying is associated with premenstrual disorders (PMDs) in adulthood, but its relationship with PMDs in adolescent girls needs further investigation. Methods: We analyzed 10,042 menstruating girls for PMDs using the modified version of Calendar of Premenstrual Experiences and the Delaware Bullying Victimization Scale-Student for school bullying. Multivariable logistic regression revealed the associations between school bullying and PMDs, including premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and more severe form - premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Besides, we performed stratified analyses by adding interaction terms between bullying and depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) separately among girls with and without psychiatric comorbidities. Results: At a mean age of 15.0 years (standard deviation = 1.77), 2145 (21 %) girls met the criteria of possible PMDs. Bullied girls had a higher likelihood of PMDs (OR 3.15 [2.75-3.60]). The association was most pronounced for social bullying (OR 3.24 [2.72-3.84]), followed by verbal bullying (OR 3.18 [2.76-3.68]), cyberbullying (OR 3.00 [2.26-3.99]), and physical bullying (OR 2.45 [1.93-3.09]). A stronger association was observed for PMDD than for PMS, and among girls without than those with psychiatric comorbidities.. Limitations: This is a cross-sectional survey, and residual confounding such as BMI may exist though we addressed a number of confounders. Conclusions: Our findings indicate school bullying, particularly verbal and social bullying, is positively associated with PMDs in adolescent girls. Efforts to prevent school bullying during adolescence and study its long-term effects on PMDs are needed to reduce the risk of PMDs.

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