--- title: How common are PMS and painful periods in female medical students and do they affect daily life? description: About 7 in 10 have painful periods and about 8 in 10 have premenstrual symptoms. Over half reported disruption to daily life, studying, and social activities. url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/premenstrual-symptoms-and-dysmenorrhea-associated-with-daily-routine-activities-2017/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - How common are PMS and painful periods in female medical students and do they affect daily life? Survey study, 2017 # How common are PMS and painful periods in female medical students and do they affect daily life? About 7 in 10 have painful periods and about 8 in 10 have premenstrual symptoms. Over half reported disruption to daily life, studying, and social activities. Early or limited evidence 292 female medical students in Malaysia ## What they did This survey included 292 female medical students in Malaysia from March to December 2015. Students filled out questionnaires about menstrual symptoms including pain rated on a scale of 0 to 10, and reported how symptoms affected daily activities, ability to study, and school attendance. ## What they found Of 292 students, 69.5% had painful periods with median pain of 5 out of 10. 84.9% had premenstrual symptoms. 52.7% reported disrupted daily activities: 77.3% needed prolonged rest, 42.9% could not study, 29.9% missed social activities, 22.1% missed classes. 65.8% had mild irritability and 20.5% had moderate irritability. ## What it means for you PMS and painful periods are very common in this student population and significantly impact ability to study and participate socially. Main limitation is that this studied only medical students in one college in Malaysia, so findings may not apply to all women or other populations. 292 students surveyed 69.5% had painful periods 84.9% had premenstrual symptoms ## About the study Original title Premenstrual Symptoms and Dysmenorrhea Associated with Daily Routine Activities among Female Undergraduate Medical Students Authors Htoo Htoo Kyaw Soe, Nan Nitra Than, Htay Lwin et al. Journal Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research Year 2017 Study design Survey study Participants 292 Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.9734/bjmmr/2017/33493](https://doi.org/10.9734/bjmmr/2017/33493) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Dysmenorrhea and period pain](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-dysmenorrhea/)[Irritability and anger](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-irritability-anger/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Cohort study, 2026 What menstrual and premenstrual problems do girls with intellectual disability experience? Survey study, 2024 What causes worse PMS in college women? Survey study, 2024 How common is dysmenorrhea related to PMS in university students, and how do they treat it? Survey study, 2023 Does PMS affect school performance and relationships in female medical students? Survey study, 2015 How common is PMS in teenage school girls in an urban city in India? Survey study, 2015 How common is PMS among teenage girls in rural India? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗