Survey study, 2008
How many female medical students have painful periods and does it affect school attendance?
Dysmenorrhea (painful periods) affected 73.83% of 107 female medical students. Of those with painful periods, 31.67% frequently missed school or classes.
What they did
Researchers surveyed 107 female medical students in their first and second years. They asked about regular periods, painful periods, premenstrual symptoms, and how often students missed school or classes. They used a verbal scoring system to measure how severe the pain was.
What they found
Dysmenorrhea affected 73.83% of students. Approximately 4.67% of those with painful periods had severe pain. Among students with dysmenorrhea, 31.67% frequently missed college or school and 8.68% frequently missed individual classes. The average cycle length was 28.34 days with menstrual flow lasting on average 4.5 days. Premenstrual symptoms were reported by 60.50% of students. 67.08% reported social withdrawal. Other menstrual disorders included irregular periods (7.47%), prolonged bleeding (10.28%), heavy bleeding (23.36%), and PCOD (3.73%).
What it means for you
Painful periods are very common among medical students and significantly affect their ability to attend school and classes. Most students did not see a doctor but treated themselves with over-the-counter pain medication. The study is limited to one group of first and second year medical students in one country and does not compare them to other women.
73.83%
Students with dysmenorrhea
31.67%
Frequently missed school or classes
60.50%
Reported premenstrual symptoms
About the study
- Original title
- Prevalence and severity of dysmenorrhea: a problem related to menstruation, among first and second year female medical students
- Authors
- Singh A, Kiran D, Singh H et al.
- Journal
- Indian journal of physiology and pharmacology
- Year
- 2008
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 107
- Read the paper
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19585756/
Topics
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