STUDIES ON PREMENSTRUAL AND MENSTRUAL SYMPTOMS IN VARIOUS WOMAN WORKERS

Abstract

Surveys were carried out on premenstrual and menstrual symptoms over a period from June 1958 to October 1961 with agrarian women, nurses, telephone operators, office employees, conductresses of bus, electric appliance workers, department store girls, watch-making workers, spinners, middle and higher school girls, rural elementary and middle school girls and other, totalling 10, 480, with the following results, 1. Premenstrual and menstrual symptoms are observed in 83.65% in ages of 2125 years. They were frequently encountered among telephone operators and conductresses of bus, and infrequently among rural elementary and middle school girls and agrarian women.2. Premenstrual symtoms were observed in 56.61% in ages of 2135 years, especially in 2630 years, and more frequently among telephone operators and conductresses of bus and infrequently among rural elementary and middl eschool girls, and spinners. Ages of high frequency in different occupations were as follows; Less than 20 years among electric appliance workers and middle and higher school girls, and more than 30 years among office employees and agrarian women.3. Menstrual symptoms were observed in 71.47% in ages of 1625 years, and frequent among electric appliances workers and telephone operators, and infrequent among office employees and agrarian women. Ages of high frequency in different occupations 2630 years among telephone operators, 2130 years among agrarian women, and 1625 years in the other.4. Those having the symptoms only in the premenstrual period account for 12.17%, and were numerous among office employees and agrasian women, and few among watch-making workers and electric appliance workers. Ages of Highest frequency are 3645 years in the majority of occupations, but 3135 years among telephone operators and conductresses of bus, and 3650 years among agrarian women.5. Those having symptoms from the premenstrual through the menstrual period accounted for 44.44%, and were numerous among telephone operators and conductress of bus, and few among spinners and agrarian women. Ages of high frequency was 1630 years in most occupations, but 2635 years among watch-making workers, 3640 years among office employees, and 4650 years among spinners.6. Those having the symptoms only during menstruation accounted for 27.03%, and were numerous among spinners and electric appliance workers, but few among aggrarian women and other. Ages of highest frequency were below 20 years in the majority of occupations, but 2630 years among agrarian women, and 21 25 years among electric appliance workers and spinners.7. A symptom was found in 16.35%, It occurs least frequently in 2125 years in general, but in 1620 years among middle and higher school girls and spinners, below 15 years among electric appliance workers, in 26-30 years among nurse, telephone operators and conductresses of bus, and in 3640 years among office employees.8. As for the degree of premenstrual and menstrual symptoms, those who lay in bed or do not work owing to premenstrual symptoms account for only 4%, and there were no remarkable difference by age. They were relatively numerous among conductresses of bus. During the development of menstrual symptoms, only 1/3 led the usual lives, and the remainder had more or less disturbances. Those in 2130 years with serious menstrual symptoms who lay in bed or do not work were numerous among telephone operators and conductresses of bus, and percentage of adsentees were very high in these occupations. This was assumedly because many telephone operators and conductresses of bus considered, thanks to their union's propaganda, monthly holidays for woman workers as elementary right for them. Those who worked despite discomfort during menstruation were numerous among nurses.