Menstrual problems among adolescent girls in Thiruvananthapuram district

Authors

  • Nazeema Beevi P. Department of Community Medicine, Sree Gokulam Medical College and Research Foun¬dation, Venjaramoodu, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
  • Manju L. Department of Community Medicine, Sree Gokulam Medical College and Research Foun¬dation, Venjaramoodu, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
  • Anil Bindhu S Department of Community Medicine, Sree Gokulam Medical College and Research Foun¬dation, Venjaramoodu, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
  • Jeesha C. Haran Department of Community Medicine, Sree Gokulam Medical College and Research Foun¬dation, Venjaramoodu, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
  • Regi Jose Department of Community Medicine, Sree Gokulam Medical College and Research Foun¬dation, Venjaramoodu, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20173360

Keywords:

Adolescent girls, Menstrual disorders, Dysmenorrhoea, Premenstrual symptoms

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a transitional stage extending from 10-19 years characterized by rapid physical, mental and sexual changes. It is also characterized by hormonal changes. As girls attain puberty at this age, they have various problems associated with menstruation. Menstruation is a natural phenomenon and an important indicator of women's health reflecting their reproductive function. However data on experiences of menstruation and it's impact on the health status, quality of life and social integration among women in developing countries is scanty. 75% of girls have one or more problems associated with menstruation.

Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of menstrual problems among school going students in the age group of 12-17 years. 510 adolescent girls of randomly selected government schools in Thiruvananthapuram district were studied by a pretested semi structured questionnaire.

Results: Mean age of menarche is 12.2. Out of 510 students 352 have normal menstrual cycles (50.1%). 10% have scanty menstruation, 31% have menorrhagia. Majority of girls (84.8%) has one or other menstrual problems. 33% of girls suffer from dysmenorrhea. Among 510 participants 31.6% reported that menstrual problems affects their daily life activities. 14.7% could not attend the class and 12.8% attend the class without taking medication but not participating in any outdoor activities.

Conclusions: Menstrual problems are present in majority of girls in the study group which has some effect on the academic performance and other extracurricular activities in school. 

References

Salkhan S. Adolescent gynaecological issue. Text book of Gynaecology. 1st ed. Chapter 13. Jaypee brothers Medical publishers (p) Ltd; 2011: 70-72.

Mashankar VA. Menstrual Problems in adolesecnts. In: Bhave SY, editor. Bhave’s Textbook of Adolescent Medicine. New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd; 2006: 95-104.

Steiner M, Macdougall M, Brown E. The premenstrual symptoms screening tool (PSST) for clinicians. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2003;6(3):203-9.

John C. A study of menstrual Problems among adolescent girls. Kerala Med J. 2010;3(3):81-3.

Waghachavare VB, Chawhan VM, Dhumale GB. A study of menstral problems among rural College going students of Sanguli District. National J Community Med. 2013;4(2):236-40.

Singh J, Singh JV, Srivastha AK. Health Status of Adolescent Girls in Slums of Lucknow. Indian J Community Med. 2006;31(2):102 -3.

Joshi BN, Chauhan SL, Dande UM, Triambaka VH, Gaitwad NS, Bhadaria V. Reproductive health problems and help seeking behavior among adolescents in urban India. Indian J Pediatr. 2006;73(6):509-13.

Nair MK, Chacko DS, Ranjith Darwin M, Padma K, George B, P S R. Menstrual disorder and menstrual hygiene practices in higher secondary school girls. Indian J Paediatr. 2012;79(1):74-8.

Balasubramanian P. Health needs of poor unmarried adolescent girls- a community-based study in rural Tamil Nadu. Indian J Population Educ. 2005; 18-33

Lee LK, Chen PC, Lee KK, Kaur. Menstruation in adolescent girls in Malaysia -cross sectional school survey. Singapore Med J. 2006;47(10):869-74.

Vani RK, Veena KS, Subitha L, Kumar HS, Bupathy A. Menstrual abnormalities in School going girls-Are they related to dietary and exercise pattern. J Clin Diagnos Res. 2013;7(11):2537–40.

Priya SS, Alliretnam AS, Shankar R. Menstrual problems and hygiene among rural adolescent girls of Tamil Nadu- a cross sectional study. Indian J Obstetr Gynaecol Res. 2016;3(2):126-31.

Bhattacharya RR, Bhattacharya SK, Bhattacharya K, Sarkar BB, Bhattacharya A, Gupta A. Reproductive tract infection among female adolescents. Indian J Community Med. 2006;31(1):32-3.

Unniraman PK, Madhavachandran P, Unnikrishnan. Effect of Yoga on menstrual problems in adolescents. Int J Yoga Allied Sci. 2015;4(1):15-21.

Downloads

Published

2017-07-22

How to Cite

Beevi P., N., L., M., S, A. B., Haran, J. C., & Jose, R. (2017). Menstrual problems among adolescent girls in Thiruvananthapuram district. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 4(8), 2995–2998. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20173360

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles