Prevalence of Dysmenorrhea among Female Medical Students and its Impact on their Day to Day Activities Paul Preetha1,*, Sekary Arul2, Kannan I3 1Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, Tagore Medical College and Hospital 2CRRI, Tagore Medical College and Hospital, Rathinamangalam, Chennai 3Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology, Tagore Medical College and Hospital, Rathinamangalam, Chennai *Corresponding Author: Dr. Preetha Paul, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, Tagore Medical College and Hospital, Rathinamangalam, Chennai-600 127. E-mail: drpreethapaul@yahoo.co.in
Online published on 8 March, 2019. Abstract Background Dysmenorrhea refers to painful menstruation with associated symptoms such as backache, headache etc. and is quite common among young women. In many, it hampers normal day to day activities resulting in lost work-hours. Aim This study was taken up to estimate the prevalence of dysmenorrhea among female medical students, its impact on sufferers’ daily activities and their knowledge of treatment options. Materials and Method This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 150 medical students of ages 18–21 in Tagore Medical College, Chennai. All subjects were given a questionnaire with questions pertaining to pain during menstruation, its severity, other associated symptoms, effect on day-to-day activities as well as management options. Using information from the questionnaire, grading of subjects into mild, moderate and severe dysmenorrhea was done. Results and Discussion Overall prevalence of dysmenorrhea among the study population was found to be 72.67% with commonest symptoms associated being headache (88%) and backache (64%). Of the dysmenorrheic population, 42% had mild, 39% had moderate and 19% had severe dysmenorrhea. Low class concentration (59%), class absenteeism (34%), college absenteeism (20%), limitation of social activity (52%) and curtailment of sporting activities (57%) of sufferers were found, all of these being more in the severe dysmenorrhea group. Regarding knowledge of medication, only 12% and 20% knew that paracetamol and mefenamic acid were treatment options. Dysmenorrhea was managed mainly by rest (52%) while 19% used analgesics. The majority considered dysmenorrhea to be a normal female experience and did not think it warranted any treatment. Conclusion Painful menstruation is considered to be a normal female experience by young female medicos. They need to be educated on effective management methods and given knowledge of appropriate medications so that dysmenorrhea will no longer be the cause of lost work hours or poor quality of life. Top Keywords Dysmenorrhea, class concentration, college absenteeism, medical students, menstruation. Top |