Recognizing the usage of analgesics among Saudi women with primary dysmenorrhea

Abstract

Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is defined as the pain that occurs during the menstrual cycle (MC) in the absence of a distinguishable reason. The purpose of this study was to investigate the application of analgesics during dysmenorrhea among Saudi women. This was a cross-sectional study that was carried out by distributing an electronic questionnaire to selected subjects between June 2022 and January 2023. The questionnaire consisted of three sections including 25 questions relating to subject demographics, the characteristics of dysmenorrhea, and the use of analgesics. In total, 1011 females were involved in this study, with a mean age of 23.5 ± 12.8 years. We found that a family history of dysmenorrhea was not associated with PD. In total, 37.9% of subjects reported that the pain began before MC while 58.1% of subjects reported that pain began during their cycle. In addition, 68.5% of females stated that the pain associated with dysmenorrhea affected their daily activities. Analysis showed that 76.2% of females used analgesics for dysmenorrhea while 23.8% did not use any analgesics. The majority of users reported taking Paracetamol, followed by Ibuprofen, and Diclofenac, while 9% used other drugs or herbs. With regards to the timing of analgesic administration, 89.7% of subjects stated that they used analgesics as needed, whereas 10.3% reported using analgesics before the pain began. Furthermore, 66.9% of subjects reported using analgesics after meals whereas 22.5% reported using analgesics before meals. However, 20% of subjects used analgesics after consulting healthcare personnel, including doctor/pharmacists. Our anlaysis revealed that females exhibited reluctance in pursuing medical assistance and preferred to consult family members, friends and internet resources, thus resulting in a lower efficacy of the analgesic drugs taken.