Survey study, 2020
Do premenstrual symptoms affect a woman's quality of life?
Yes. In this study, women with more premenstrual symptoms, especially physical ones, reported lower quality of life in every area measured.
What they did
A cross-sectional study of 300 married women aged 20-45 in Rawalakot, Azad Kashmir, carried out from September 2017 to January 2018. Women filled in Urdu versions of two questionnaires: the Greene Climacteric Symptoms Scale and the WHO Quality of Life scale.
What they found
The women's mean age was 32.59±7.12 years, and 245 (81.7%) had a regular menstrual cycle. There was a significant negative relationship between premenstrual symptoms and all domains of quality of life (p<0.05). Physical (somatic) symptoms hurt quality of life more than other types of symptoms (p<0.05).
What it means for you
Premenstrual symptoms, particularly physical ones like cramps or fatigue, can get in the way of daily life, work, and relationships. This was a one-time survey in a single region with no follow-up, so it cannot prove that symptoms directly cause worse quality of life, only that the two are linked.
300
Women studied
32.59±7.12 yrs
Mean age
81.7%
Had regular cycles
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual symptoms as predictor of quality of life in reproductive-aged women of Rawalakot, Azad Kashmir: A cross sectional study
- Authors
- Mushtaq A, Arif S, Sabih F
- Journal
- JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association
- Year
- 2020
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 300
- What was tested
- None (observational survey, no treatment tested)
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.47391/jpma.417
Original abstract
Objective: To determine the predictive role of premenstrual symptoms in reproductive-aged women's quality of life. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted in Rawalakot, Azad Kashmir, from September 2017 to January 2018, and comprised married women aged 20-45 years. Urdu versions of Greene Climacteric Symptoms Scale and World Health Organisation Quality of Life scale were used. Data was analysed using SPSS 23. Results: Of the 300 women with a mean age of 32.59±7.12 years, 245(81.7%) had a regular menstrual cycle. There was significant negative relationship between premenstrual symptoms and all domains of quality of life (p<0.05). Somatic symptoms were predominantly affecting the quality of life in more negative manners compared to other symptoms (p<0.05). Conclusions: Premenstrual symptoms disturb the daily activities of reproductive-aged women and adversely affect their educational, occupational and psychosocial functioning.
Reproduced under CC-BY.
Topics
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