Pain and quality of life of adolescents with primary dysmenorrhea in Tbilisi, Georgia, 2008. Cross sectional study

Abstract

Objective:The study aimed to measure the effect of primary dysmenorrhea on the quality of life of female adolescents living in Tbilisi, Georgia, and to compare Quality of Life (QoL) with healthy controls. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study of 424 women aged 14-20, living in Tbilisi, Geor gia, coming from academic and research institutions. The women were divided into those suffering dysmenorrhea (exposure group) and those without pain (control group). Reproductive history, demographic features, menstrual pattern, severity of dysmenorrhea and quality of life using the generic instrument EQ-5D, were measured. The Independent T student test was used for group comparison. Results: The group with dysmenorrhea (276) showed a lower Quality of Life score of 0.69 ± 0.20 vs. 0.94 ± 0.10 in the control group (p = 0.000); (p = 0.000). Of the subjetcs with primary dismenorrhea, 56.6% reported school absenteeism due to pain. conclusion: Primary dysmenorrhea is a common problem in the adolescent population of Tbilisi, Georgia. The results of this study demonstrate that adolescents with primary dysmenorrhea in Georgia experience significantly lower physical and psychosocial health-related QoL than their healthy peers.

The role of water intake in the severity of pain and menstrual distress among females suffering from primary dysmenorrhea: a semi-experimental study

“…The VAS is commonly used to measure menstrual pain intensity and consists of a 10-cm horizontal line with ‘no pain’ on one end and ‘worse possible pain’ on the other end [ 6 ]. Self-reported pain is the single most important element in understanding pain [ 23 ].…”