Health related quality of life among adolescents with premenstrual disorders: a cross sectional study

Mahin Delara,Ali Montazeri,Parviz Azadfallah,Anoushirvan Kazemnejad,Sedigheh Sadat Tavafian,Fazlollah Ghofranipour

doi:10.1186/1477-7525-10-1

Abstract

BackgroundPremenstrual disorders usually refer to premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). This study was designed to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a sample of Iranian adolescents with premenstrual disorders.MethodsThis was a cross sectional study. A sample of adolescent schoolgirls aged between 14 and 19 years were included in the study. Premenstrual disorders were indicated according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Health-related quality of life was measured using the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). The data were analyzed in a descriptive fashion and were compared among subgroups of the study sample.ResultsIn all 602 female students were studied. All students reported at least one premenstrual symptom. Of these, 224 (37.2%) met the diagnostic criteria for premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Comparing the SF-36 scores between female students with and without PMDD, it was found that there were significant differences between these two groups in all measures (P < 0.001) except for physical functioning (P = 0.274). These differences were more evident on role emotional, role physical, social functioning and bodily pain.ConclusionThe study findings affirm the fact that adolescents with premenstrual disorders suffer from poor health-related quality of life. In order to improve quality of life in female adolescents appropriate support should be provided for this population especially for those who suffer from more severe premenstrual disorders.

Highlights

Premenstrual disorders usually refer to premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
In a comprehensive review of the literature Parkin and Winer distinguished four types of studies that evaluated the PMS/PMDD effect on health-related quality of life and for instance reported that ‘the affective, behavioral and physical symptoms of PMDD have been shown to adversely affect health-related quality of life to a disabling degree, especially regarding interpersonal relationships with family members and partner’ or ‘women with PMDD suffer impairment that is as severe as women with chronic clinical depression and that their luteal phase adjustment to social and leisure activities is even worse than women with other types of depression’ [9]
The findings from this study showed that students with PMDD reported a poor health-related quality of life as measured by the SF-36

Summary

Introduction

Premenstrual disorders usually refer to premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Premenstrual disorders namely premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), are a group of physical, cognitive, affective, and behavioral symptoms that occur cyclically during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and resolve at or within a few days of the onset of menstruation [1]. In a comprehensive review of the literature Parkin and Winer distinguished four types of studies that evaluated the PMS/PMDD effect on health-related quality of life and for instance reported that ‘the affective, behavioral and physical symptoms of PMDD have been shown to adversely affect health-related quality of life to a disabling degree, especially regarding interpersonal relationships with family members and partner’ or ‘women with PMDD suffer impairment that is as severe as women with chronic clinical depression and that their luteal phase adjustment to social and leisure activities is even worse than women with other types of depression’ [9]

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