Prevalence of Dysmenorrhea among Adolescent Girls: A Burning Issue

Prevalence of Dysmenorrhea among Adolescent Girls

Abstract

Background: Dysmenorrhea, defined as painful cramps that occur with menstruation, is the most common gynecologic problem in women of all ages and races and one of the most common causes of pelvic pain. Painful menses in women or dysmenorrhea is a very frequently observed gynecologic problem. The true incidence and prevalence of dysmenorrhea are not clearly established in India. Subjects and Methods: The data were collected from the schools and colleges present in Krishna district. Female medical students and a female medico-social worker were trained for this study. Three schools and three colleges were randomly selected and from this all the girls who were willing to participate and in the age group of 14-19 years were included in the study. Results: The overall prevalence of dysmenorrhoea was 68% (72.3% and 63.3% in the urban and rural areas respectively). The difference in the prevalence of the urban and rural adolescent girls (study subjects) is not significant. Conclusion: Dysmenorrhoea is a very common problem. A number of physical and emotional symptoms are associated with dysmenorrhea and it also affects the quality of life of girls to a great extent.