ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to evaluate the patterns of menstruation including menorrhagia using menstrual index, to find out correlations between patient's own judgement and actual patterns of menstruation in Korean women, and to develop the menstrual diary using menstrual index as a screening of menstrual disorders. METHODS: Seventy-seven women teachers of elementary school undergoing routine health screening test were asked to complete a pictorial blood loss assessment chart and a set of interview sheets regarding menstrual history and their subjective judgement on their amount of menstruation. Spearman correlation test was used to assess the correlation between menstrual index which was obtained from pictorial chart and serum hemoglobin concentration. RESULTS: The mean menstrual intervals were 29.8 days (SD+/-5.1), the mean menstrual duration was 5.6 days (SD+/-1.3), the mean value of menstrual index was 170.3 (SD+/-89.2) which varied from 12 to 411, the mean serum hemoglobin concentration was 12.3 g/dL. Significant correlation was found between the serum hemoglobin concentration and the menstrual index (r=-0.29, p=0.01). Seventeen of 20 women who had anemia (serum hemoglobin concentration below 12.0 g/dL) and 25 of 26 women who had menorrhagia (menstrual index above 200) considered her menstruation as 'normal'. CONCLUSION: Many women who have anemia due to menorrhagia are not aware of the serious consequences of menorrhagia. Writing a 'menstrual diary' using menstrual index would be easier and more practical method in predicting menorrhagia.