Type of Dysmenorrhea, Menstrual Characteristics and Symptoms in Nursing Students in Southern Spain

Abstract

Dysmenorrhea is a form of chronic pain associated with menstruation that affects a high percentage of young people. This study sought to determine the prevalence of primary and secondary dysmenorrhea among female nursing students in southern Spain and to compare their menstrual characteristics and symptoms. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted using a self-report questionnaire that included sociodemographic variables, menstrual characteristics and related symptoms. Descriptive bivariate analysis and binary logistic regression were performed in which the dependent variable was secondary dysmenorrhea. The prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 73.8% (of which 63.3% had primary dysmenorrhea and 10.5% had secondary dysmenorrhea), and was more likely in women with longer periods, heavier bleeding and those not using oral hormonal contraception (OCP). Secondary dysmenorrhea was 31.75, (confidence interval (CI)95% = 4.44–238.59; p < 0.01) times more likely among those with menstrual headache, 8.37 (CI95% = 2.35–19.80; p < 0.01), times greater among those suffering nausea during menstruation, 6.60 (CI95% = 1.42–30.67; p < 0.01), times greater among those suffering from menstrual vomiting, it was also 1.17 (CI95% = 1.08–1.26; p < 0.01) times more likely for each day that the period was prolonged and 6.63 (CI95% = 1.47–30.01; p = 0.014) times more likely in women with a heavy menstrual flow. These findings may help guide professionals towards the prescription of additional tests in certain cases in which secondary dysmenorrhea is suspected.

Living with Restrictions. The Perspective of Nursing Students with Primary Dysmenorrhea

“…Finally, as there is currently no specific and conclusive test for the differential diagnosis of primary and secondary dysmenorrhea, some participants may have had secondary dysmenorrhea although without identifying it as such. However, this limitation is found in most studies on primary dysmenorrhea [2,7,8,64,65], furthermore, in the current study this was minimized, considering the recommendations of the Primary Dysmenorrhea Consensus Guideline of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada and the Committee Opinion on Adolescent Health Care Dysmenorrhea and Endometriosis in the Adolescent developed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists [5,39]. Thus, we avoided including women for whom, according to these recommendations, additional testing was recommended because of suspected secondary dysmenorrhea or other pathologies with pelvic pain.…”

“…Purposeful sampling was carried out, selecting participants for their capacity to provide relevant information in response to the research questions [26]. The inclusion criteria consisted of: (a) nursing students enrolled in the University of Huelva (https://enfe.acentoweb.com/) during the study period, (b) PD: who acknowledged experiencing menstrual pain for which no underlying cause had been diagnosed [7,31], (c) suffering from menstrual pain at least once in the last six months, with at least three periods per year [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19], (d) moderate-severe pain intensity based on the visual analogue scale (VAS equal to or greater than 4 out of 10 [8,32,33], (e) for at least the three cycles prior to the study [34,35], (f) with normal menstrual characteristics in terms of cycle length, duration of menstruation, quantity and regularity. Normal menstrual characteristics were considered to be periods occurring every 24 to 38 days, on a regular basis, with bleeding that lasts 4.5 to 8 days, and 5 to 80 mL blood loss per cycle [36][37][38], and (g) not being a candidate for requesting diagnostic tests due to suspicion of suffering secondary dysmenorrhea or any other diagnosed pelvic or gynaecological problem based on the recommendations of the Primary Dysmenorrhea Consensus Guideline of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada and the Committee Opinion on Adolescent Health Care Dysmenorrhea and Endometriosis in the Adolescent developed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists [5,34,39].…”

“…PD is not caused by a pelvic pathology and is principally thought to be due to an excess of prostaglandins although it may also be associated with dysfunctions in the immune, endocrine and vascular systems [6]. This is the most common type of dysmenorrhea, affecting an estimated 63% to 75% of Spanish female university students [7,8]. In contrast, SD is associated with other diagnosed pathologies, most frequently endometriosis [9].…”

Menstrual cycle and gynecologic pathology in menstrual-related migraine

“…Более того, согласно данным исследования A. Abreu-Sаnchez и соавт. [11], у пациенток с менструальной головной болью в 31,75 раза чаще имеется вторичная дисменорея (p<0,01).…”

“…В последние годы возрастает интерес к изучению особенностей менструальной функции при ММ, но в на-стоящее время доступны лишь результаты исследований, основанных на самодиагностике МАМ и НММ с помощью опросников, субъективного восприятия регулярности менструального цикла и, кроме того, включающих пациенток, которые принимают гормональные контрацептивы [8,9]. В отдельных исследованиях показана коморбидность МАМ и дисменореи [10,11]. Дисменорея может как быть первичной, так и являться симптомом многих гинекологических заболеваний, в том числе эстроген-ассоциированных (аденомиоза/эндометриоза, миомы матки).…”