Dysmenorrhoea among Hong Kong university students: prevalence, impact, and management

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the prevalence of dysmenorrhoea, its impact, and management approaches in Hong Kong university students, and to compare between medical and non-medical students for any potential differences in coping strategies.Design Cross-sectional questionnaire survey.Setting The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.Participants A total of 240 undergraduate (128 medical and 112 non-medical) students.Main outcome measures Data on the presence and severity of dysmenorrhoea, its impact on daily life, management approaches, specific strategies, and their self-perceived effectiveness were obtained and analysed.Results In these subjects, the prevalence of dysmenorrhoea was 80% (95% confidence interval, 75-85%) with a mean (standard deviation) pain score of 5.0 (1.7). The most common impacts on daily life included reduced ability to concentrate and/or disturbance with study (75%) and changes in normal physical activity (60%). Only 6% sought medical advice, while 70% practised selfmanagement. Pain scores and pain affecting normal physical activities were important predictive factors for self-management and for management based on pharmacological or nonpharmacological means. The commonest specific strategies used were a warm beverage (62%), paracetamol (57%), and sleeping (45%), while the most effective strategies were non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (100%), traditional Chinese medicine (93%), and dietary/nutritional supplements (92%). Regarding the comparison of medical and non-medical students, the former used fewer pharmacological strategies among the various management approaches investigated. ConclusionWith data showing dysmenorrhoea as a very common condition having a significant impact in the Hong Kong community, primary care doctors should reassure young women with dysmenorrhoea that it is a common experience in the same age-group. Health education on the existence of effective treatment from medical practitioners could help women whose dysmenorrhoea was not controlled by self-management.

Prevalence of Dysmenorrhea and its Effects on School Performance: A Crosssectional Study

“…The Chisquare analysis also showed that dysmenorrhea is responsible for significant absenteeism from class (X 2 =15; df=2; p=0.001), loss of concentration (X 2 =12.85; df=2; p=0.02), lack of focus on exam (X 2 =7.4; df=2; p=0.025). Different studies agree with our study findings [9,[12][13][14]17,18,[21][22][23][24]. The negative effect of dysmenorrhea comes at its peak when it brings about missed exams and absenteeism.…”

“…This figure is relatively higher than prevalence reported by Shah et al [10], Yasir et al [18] and Pejcic et al [20]. In contrasts, the prevalence was relatively lower in studies conducted by Teshome et al [8], El-Hameed et al [11], Mohamed et al [13], Chia et al [14], Khodakarami et al [15], Habibi et al [16] and Sidi et al [17]. The possible reasons for the discrepancy among the estimates could be the difference in the life style of study subjects, the difference in use of selected age group, difference in perception of pain during menstruation, the absence of universally accepted technique of defining dysmenorrhea, a probable disparity in the methods of data collection, study definitions of dysmenorrhea and pain.…”

“…The prevalence of dysmenorrhea among Hong Kong University student reported was 80% (95%CI; 75, 85%) [14]. Study conducted in Iraq revealed that the frequency of dysmenorrhea was estimated to be 85.31% [15]; likewise, a cross-sectional study carried among female students aged 18 to 27 years in Isfahan University of Medical SciencesIran, the prevalence was 89.1% [16].…”

“…The most common effects were class absenteeism as reported in [9,12,13,17,[21][22][23][24], unable to concentrate on their classes or study [13,14,17,18], had bad relationships with their families/friends [13,14,18], unable to do homework [17] and missed exam [24].…”

Exercício Físico Como Terapia Não Farmacológica No Tratamento Da Dismenorreia Primária: Uma Revisão Sistemática

“…destacam-se os contraceptivos orais, antiinflamatórios não esteroidais e analgésicos que agem reduzindo a dor e/ou o nível de prostaglandinas 11 . A terapêutica mais prevalentemente escolhida pelas mulheres que sofrem com a dismenorreia é o tratamento farmacológico, sendo muitas vezes auto administrado e, portanto, sem intervenção médica nessa escolha 12 . Em um estudo transversal com 197 participantes sobre as estratégias de auto cuidado de mulheres com dismenorreia, as principais…”