No abstract

Background: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a heterogeneous disorder which includes physical and affective symptoms that most females of reproductive age experience during the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle.  Objective: This study aims to investigate the factors associated with PMS among adolescent schoolgirls and to assess the severity of PMS. Methods: A cross sectional study conducted among 102 adolescents representing Marrakesh city. A structured questionnaire was used. Data analysis was done with SPSS version 26.  Results: The rate of mild to severe PMS were 52.9 %, 25.5 % and 21.6 % respectively. The most common physical symptoms were backache (52.9%) and breast tenderness (36.3%), while the most common affective symptoms were irritability (49 %), anxiety (46.1 %) and mood swelling (45.1 %). Significant differences were observed between PMS group and non-PMS group in level of education (p< 0.05), sweets consumption (p< 0.05) and family’s status (p< 0.05). There was no significant association between PMS and BMI.  Conclusion: Based on the findings, it seems that the occurrence of PMS is associated with sweet consumption frequency. This study showed also that the most common PMS symptoms were irritability and backache.

BACKGROUND: Adolescence is associated with many physical changes, it is described as a period when body weight changes and is likely to become worrying for many adolescents. AIM: This study aims to evaluate associations between body weight perception and body mass index (BMI) among a population of female adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional school-based study was conducted from February to May 2017 among 12–19 years olds adolescents (n = 415) from high and middle school. BMI for age percentiles was calculated using the WHO AnthroPlus. Body weight perception was determined using an anonymous questionnaire. RESULTS: The prevalence of misconception of body weight was 60%. The prevalence of misconception was positively associated with the participants age (p < 0.001), the occurrence of menarche (p < 0.05), the increasing of BMI (p < 0.001), and with habits diet satisfaction (p < 0.05). Overweighed participants and who’s with normal weight were more likely to perceive their weight incorrectly (p < 0.05). Furthermore, approximately 2.9% of participants underestimated their true body weight and 57.1% overestimated their weight. However, all participants with underweight had correctly perceived their body weight. Logistic regression showed that predictor factors of misconception weight were participant’s age and BMI. CONCLUSION: It is recommended to improve healthy programs in schools aimed at preventing body weight perception and eating problems among adolescents.

Menstruation is an important part of a girl’s life, and inadequate knowledge about this process can have an impact on reproductive health. Menstrual hygiene is the aspect given the most importance in health education for girls. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Marrakesh among a population of schoolgirls. A total of 364 schoolgirls 12–20 years of age and attending middle and high schools were randomly selected to participate in the study. The data were collected anonymously in direct confidential interviews and analysed with SPSS.21. Our descriptive findings show that many of the girls lacked adequate knowledge about the origin of menstrual blood (54.7%) and about the physiological cause of menstruation (77.2%). More than half of the respondents (69.2%) reported a negative reaction to their first menstruation. There was a significant correlation between their knowledge about menstruation and the education level of both their mothers (P< 0.001;X2= 25.15) and fathers (P< 0.001;X2= 26.01). We conclude that the girls had misconceptions about some physiological menstrual traits but that their menstrual hygiene was generally sound.

Background: Adolescence is associated with many physical and psychological changes, it is described as a period when body weight changes and is likely to become worrying for many adolescents. Aim: This study aims to evaluate associations between body weight perception and body mass index (BMI) among a population of female adolescent’s. Methods: A cross-sectional school-based study was conducted from February to May 2017 among 12–19 years olds adolescents (n = 415) from high and middle school. BMI for age percentiles was calculated using the WHO AnthroPlus. Body weight perception was determined using an anonymous questionnaire. Results: The prevalence of body weight misconception was positively associated with the participants age (p < 0.001), the occurrence of menarche (p < 0.05), the increasing of BMI (p < 0.001), and with habits diet satisfaction (p < 0.05). Overweighed participants and who’s with normal weight were more likely to perceive their weight incorrectly (p < 0.05). Furthermore, approximately 2.9% of participants underestimated their true body weight and 57.1% overestimated their weight. However, all participants with underweight had correctly perceived their body weight. Conclusion: It is recommended to improve healthy programs in schools aimed at preventing body weight perception and eating problems among adolescents. Keywords:  Body Weight, Perception, BMI, Female Adolescent’s, Morocco