Attitude and knowledge of medical students of Isra university about dysmenorrhoea and its treatment

Dysmenorrhoea is the term for painful menstruation. It is a common gynaecological complaint among female adolescent. The objective of this study was to assess attitude and knowledge about treatment of dysmenorrhoea among medical students of Isra university. This study was conducted at Isra University Hyderabad. Non-probability, convenient random selection from MBBS student was done. Participants included were 18-25 years of ages, irrespective of marital status. Girls with irregular menstrual cycles, primary or secondary amenorrhea were excluded from the study. Pre-designed questionnaire was filled by the students. A total of 197 female medical students were recruited, dysmenorrhoea was reported in76%, of these 62.43% had primary and 13.19% has secondary dysmenorrhoea. Majority 89 [59.70%] of the girls had mild G1 to moderate 48 [32.21%] G2 dysmenorrhoea and twelve 8.05% were with severe dysmenorrhoea. The most common symptoms observed were abdominal cramps 94 [63%], irritability 91 [61.07%], headache 41 [24.5%] and vomiting 34 [22.8%]. Different attitudes of students were assessed, that 40.6% of subjects can not do their routine work and 19.3% remain absent from education place. Only 69.5% students were using commercial pads, 67% girls were not taking bath and 92.4% were not doing exercise during menstruation, only 15 [7.6%] were doing exercise from the study population. Simple analgesic was the most known drug to 49.7% of participants for relief of dysmenorrhoea pain. Dysmenorrhoea is a common problem among young girls, and it significantly affects their class attendance, academic performance and routine work. Even being medical students, strong cultural believes were observed regarding menstrual cycle. Attitudinal changes are necessary to develop, educational strategies, appropriate use of medications and consultation with physician, to empower these young girls regarding healthy life-style

Menstrual disorders in adolescent age group

The prevalence of different menstrual disorders and their relationship with socioeconomic factors in adolescent age group was assessed by administering a questionnaire to 700 adolescent girls with average age of 15 years. The girls were randomly selected from six schools and one college based on stratification of socio-economic factors like income level and locality. The results show that the mean and median ages of menarche were 12 and 12.5 years respectively. Premenstrual syndrome [PMS] was present in 81.5% of respondents and dysmenorrhoea in 76%. Menorrhagia and amenorrhoea was observed in 8.5% and 2.8% respectively. Results indicate that PMS has a strong relationship [p<0.001] with age, income level and hobbies of the respondents. However, the relationship of dysmenorrhoea with income level, age and hobbies was found to be statistically significant. It is therefore, concluded that menstrual disorders are quite prevalent in our adolescent girls and positive role of socio economic factors can reduce the severity of these problems