Impact of Primary Dysmenorrhea on Academic Performance and Quality of Life Among Medical Students at Sohag University

Overview

Pain is an unpleasant sensation that negatively affects individual experiencing it, depending on its quality, intensity, location, and duration. One of the causes of pain among females is dysmenorrhea. Dysmenorrhea is defined as pain during menstruation. A significant population of females experience mild, moderate or severe pain during menstruation. Primary dysmenorrhea is defined as dysmenorrhea with the absence of any organic pathology starting 6-12 months after the menarche and frequently continuing till menopause, while secondary dysmenorrhea results from gynecologic problems such as adenomyosis, endometriosis, uterine fibroid and others.

In the world, the estimated prevalence of dysmenorrhea ranges from 45% to 93% of women of reproductive age, with adolescents having the highest rates of dysmenorrhea. Studies suggest that approximately 140 million hours are lost annually from school or work owing to dysmenorrhea. It is a leading cause of recurrent short-term school absenteeism, lack of concentration, no active participation, inability to do homework, failure in an exam, and limitation of activity. An estimated 15% of adolescent females describe their pain as severe, impacting their quality of life. These adolescents can miss 1 to 3 days of school per menstrual cycle. Studies have noted that dysmenorrhea can lead to lower academic performance (AP) and poor quality of sleep, resulting in mood changes, such as anxiety and depression

Conditions

Interventions