Abstract
BackgroundThe period of menstruation is an eventful one for a significant number of post-pubescent females as they experience lower abdominal pains referred to as dysmenorrhea. This study conducted among female students of the Tamale campus of the University for Development Studies assessed the prevalence of dysmenorrhea, its impact on the students and treatment methods applied.MethodsA cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain data from 293 randomly selected female students. Data was analyzed using Graph Pad 5.01. Association between different variables was tested.ResultsThe prevalence rate of dysmenorrhea was 83.6% with more than half describing their pain which lasts less than 3 days as moderate. This dysmenorrhea during menstruation affects the daily activities of up to 61.2% of respondents. Lower chronological age (χ2 = 8.28; df = 2; p = 0.016) and gynecological age (χ2 = 10.09; df = 2; p = 0.006) were the factors that were significantly associated with the presence of dysmenorrhea. Chronological and gynecological ages, age at menarche, menstrual duration or flow level do not influence the severity of dysmenorrhea but irregular menstrual flow is significantly associated with severe dysmenorrhea (χ2 = 10.54; df = 2; p = 0.005). Only 16.3% ever reported their dysmenorrhea to the hospital but increasing pain level is significantly associated with respondents visiting a hospital (χ2 = 65.61; df = 2; p < 0.0001) or use an allopathic medication (χ2 = 32.77; df = 2; p < 0.0001). Paracetamol preparation was the most common medication used notwithstanding the severity of the pain.ConclusionsThere is high prevalence of dysmenorrhea among the female students of the Tamale campus of the University for Development studies which negatively affects the daily activity of majority of them. Although, bed rest was the most common treatment method practised, paracetamol preparation was the most common allopathic drug used in self- management of their dysmenorrhea.
Highlights
The period of menstruation is an eventful one for a significant number of post-pubescent females as they experience lower abdominal pains referred to as dysmenorrhea
Whereas the management of secondary dysmenorrhea requires the treatment of the primary cause, non-pharmacological methods which include fatty diet restriction, exercise, rest, heat application, spinal manipulation, acupuncture, have been reported in several studies to ease the pains of primary dysmenorrhea [1, 12,13,14]
This study is aimed at estimating the prevalence of dysmenorrhea, its impact and management among female students of the Tamale campus of the University for Development Studies in Tamale, northern Ghana
Summary
40 (16.3%) of persons who suffer menstrual pain had ever reported at a hospital Management of menstrual pain by respondents up to 83.6% experience dysmenorrhea but just 40 (16.3%) had ever sought treatment from the hospital Just as reported in several studies on dysmenorrhea, two-third of subjects in this study experience menstruation associated symptoms such as diarrhea, headaches, lethargy, loss of appetite, nausea, joint and body pains, vomiting but the most common symptom was changes in the breast such as tenderness, heaviness, engorgement, as well as tingling and painful nipples which occurred in 39.1% of respondents [1, 12, 21]. Paracetamol, exhibits a weaker analgesic effect than NSAIDs, it is better tolerated and has better safety profile [30] and could be appropriate for managing dysmenorrhea in females who are at risk of peptic ulcer or asthma; conditions for which NSAIDs are contraindicated
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