Primary dysmenorrhea is the most common gynecological condition among women of reproductive age. Although dysmenorrhea has been reported to affect the ability of women to carry out daily activities, the impact of primary dysmenorrheic pain specifically on quality of life (QoL), has yet to be elucidated. We investigated whether QoL varies between women with and without severe primary dysmenorrhea, and whether QoL is impaired only during menstruation or also during pain-free phases of the menstrual cycle. Twelve women with severe primary dysmenorrhea and nine control women completed the quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction questionnaire (Q-LES-Q-SF) during menstruation and during the late follicular phase. Women with dysmenorrhea had a significant reduction in Q-LES-Q-SF scores (mean ± SD: 54 ± 18%, percentage of the total maximum possible score) when they were experiencing severe menstrual pain compared with their own pain-free follicular phase (80 ± 14%, p < 0.0001) and compared with controls during menstruation (81 ± 10%, p < 0.0001). They also rated their overall life satisfaction and contentment as poorer during menstruation. Severe menstrual pain associated with primary dysmenorrhea, therefore, impacts health-related of QoL.

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between psychosocial factors, including mental health, pain cognitions and social support associated with menstrual pain severity in women with dysmenorrhea of no identified medical cause (primary dysmenorrhea; PD) and dysmenorrhea related to endometriosis. Participants included 1192 women aged 18–50 years with menstrual pain, recruited to an online cross-sectional survey in 2019. Questionnaires assessed self-reported menstrual pain severity, depression, anxiety, stress, pain catastrophizing, and social support. Women with endometriosis had significantly higher menstrual pain severity (p < 0.001) and pain catastrophizing (p < 0.001) than women with PD. Of the psychosocial factors, only pain catastrophizing (specifically, the helplessness sub-scale) predicted menstrual pain severity in each group. Overall, 36% of women with PD and 58% with endometriosis had clinically relevant levels of pain catastrophizing. Findings suggest a common psychological mechanism in women with menstrual pain, regardless of etiology. Interventions to reduce pain helplessness may be beneficial in supporting women with dysmenorrhea.

Background: Dysmenorrhea is a menstrual disorder that can be experienced by some women, with complaints of cramps or pain in the lower abdomen during menstruation. Dysmenorrhea has a considerable impact on adolescent girls because it causes daily activities to be disrupted. Physical activity is one of the relaxation techniques to reduce menstrual pain. Research Objective: to analyze the relationship between physical activity and dysmenorrhea in adolescents. Methods: this was a narrative review. The literature used in the last 5 years with searches obtained from Google Scholar. Results: there were 8 articles that met the criteria. Conclusion: There is a relationship between physical activity and dysmenorrhea. Endocrine such as endorphins, estrogen, dopamine, and other endogenous opiate peptides is the one of the underlying mechanisms of physical activity role to dysmenorrhea.

The factors that underlie pelvic pain are poorly understood. Specifically, the relative influence of dysmenorrhea and psychological factors in the etiology of noncyclic pelvic pain conditions, such as interstitial cystitis and irritable bowel syndrome, is unknown. To further characterize pelvic pain, we compared the frequency of menstrual, somatosensory, and psychological risk factors between women with and without severe noncyclic pelvic pain symptoms. A total of 1012 reproductive-aged women completed a 112-item questionnaire with domains including mood, fatigue, physical activity, somatic complaint, and pain. Questionnaire items included existing items for menstrual distress and newly written items derived from qualitative interviews. The relationship of dysmenorrhea and noncyclic pelvic pain complaints (dyspareunia, dyschezia, or dysuria) was modeled using quantile regression. Among women who menstruate regularly, those with dysmenorrhea had disproportionally more severe noncyclic pelvic pain (54/402, 13%) than women without dysmenorrhea (5/432, 1%; odds ratio, 13; 95% confidence interval, 5-33). In a multivariate-adjusted model, dysmenorrhea (β = .17), activity capability (β = .17), somatic complaint (β = .17), and bodily pain (β = .12) were the primary predictors of noncyclic pelvic pain. Depression (β = .03) and anxiety (β = .01) were not significantly predictive. The presence of dysmenorrhea, somatic complaint, and low activity capability predicted 90% of the cases of women with noncyclic pelvic pain. The association between dysmenorrhea and noncyclic pelvic pain suggests that menstrual pain is an etiological factor in noncyclic pelvic pain, whereas depression and anxiety may be secondary effects. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether dysmenorrhea causally influences development of noncyclic pelvic pain or shares common underlying neural mechanisms.

Background: The problem of adolescent reproductive health is still a problem that needs attention. Many women experiences discomfort at the onset of menstruation, one of which is dysmenorrhea. Various attempts were made to relieve these symptoms is by acts of non-pharmacological such as exercise and giving chocolates. Purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the combination of chocolate and exercise to decrease menstrual pain (dysmenorrhea) in adolescents in SMPN 1 Bangkalan&#x0D; Methods: This method uses a method Quasi Experiment using a control time series design. The population in this study were students of SMP Negeri 1 Bangkalan who experienced dysmenorrhea. The sampling technique used in this study was simple random sampling with inclusion and exclusion criteria of 54 respondents who were divided into two groups with 27 respondents in each group.&#x0D; Results: The results showed that there was an effect of exercise and chocolate on decreasing menstrual pain with a sig value of 0.050 0.05 and an OR value of 5.263. In addition, there are also other factors that influence the decrease in menstrual pain, namely BMI with a sig value of 0.032 0.05 and an OR value of 0.214.&#x0D; Conclusion: there is an effect between the combination of exercise and chocolate in reducing menstrual pain (dysmenorrhea).

To estimate the prevalence of dysmenorrhea in Iranian women and investigate associated risk factors. In a cross-sectional study in Tehran, Iran in 2007, 381 women (81% response rate, age 16-56 years) were selected through a stratified random sample of 22 different districts and completed a questionnaire about dysmenorrhea. Descriptive statistics, spearman rank correlation statistic, and ordinal logistic regression models were used. Confounding and effect-modification were explored for each association. The prevalence of no, mild, moderate, and severe menstrual pain was 10%, 41%, 28%, and 22%, respectively. Older age and high intake of fruits and vegetables were protective factors for menstrual pain while women with family history of dysmenorrhea, higher stress and depression tended to have more severe pain. Body mass index, parity, smoking, and physical activity were not significantly associated with dysmenorrhea after controlling for potential confounding factors and effect modifiers. Menstrual pain is a common complaint in Iranian women. The inverse association between fruit and vegetable intake and dysmenorrhea, and reduction of stress and depression need to be further explored and considered in terms of recommendation to reduce dysmenorrhea.

ObjectivesPrimary dysmenorrhea causes menstrual pain that affects women’s quality of life (QoL) and analgesics are only moderately effective. Pain coping and pain acceptance influence QoL among people affected by other chronic pain conditions, so we examined pain coping, pain acceptance and analgesic use as predictors of QoL among women with primary dysmenorrhea. Study design145 women with primary dysmenorrhea completed an online survey including the Menstrual Symptoms Questionnaire (MSQ), the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ), the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ-8), questions about analgesic use, and the Short Form-12 (SF-12), a measure of physical and mental health-related QoL. ResultsIn multiple regression, pain acceptance predicted better physical and mental QoL, whereas pain coping did not predict mental or physical quality of life. Being married or cohabiting and menstrual pain that was less severe and shorter in duration predicted better physical QoL, and those effects were mediated by pain acceptance. Being older at the onset of painful periods predicted better mental QoL and that effect was also mediated by pain acceptance. More severe menstrual pain and congestive rather than spasmodic dysmenorrhea predicted worse mental QoL but those effects were not mediated by other factors. Analgesic use did not predict physical or mental QoL. ConclusionsThe results show the impact that menstrual pain has on women’s quality of life, and suggest that initiatives to increase pain acceptance among women with menstrual pain are worthwhile. More research is needed to understand more fully the factors that influence health-related quality of life among women with menstrual pain.

Background. Dysmenorrhea and accompanying symptoms can have a negative impact on academic achievement, physical activity and functioning, and quality of life. Unfortunately, stress increases the sensitivity and severity of pain, activating sympathetic responses while inhibiting parasympathetic responses. Objective. This study used objective, physiological measurements to evaluate the effects of auricular acupressure on menstrual pain and menstrual distress in young college students with primary dysmenorrhea across two menstrual cycles. The aim was to determine if significant differences could be detected between the intervention and follow-up phases after controlling life stress. Design. A one-group experimental research design was used, and repeated measurements and followups were done. Thirty-two women completed questionnaires and physiological parameters were measured. Results. Significant differences between the intervention and follow-up phases were found for high frequency (HF) and blood pressure on day 1 and no significant differences in menstrual pain and menstrual distress, heart rate variability, low frequency (LF), LF/HF ratio, or heart rate. Conclusion. Auricular acupressure effectively increases parasympathetic activity to maintain autonomic function homeostasis in young women with primary dysmenorrhea and may have a value in alleviating menstrual pain and menstrual distress in a high-stress life. Future studies should consider stress, stimulus dose of auricular acupressure, severity of menstrual pain, and a longitudinal research design.

Although menstrual pain (dysmenorrhea) is common and can have detrimental effects on work and social functioning, little is known about how people manage it in their professional life. Existing evidence indicates that people with dysmenorrhea often engage in presenteeism, meaning they work despite experiencing symptoms and report perceptions of social stigma around menstruation. In this study, we investigated individual health-related factors, psychosocial factors, and work factors associated with period pain presenteeism in a cross-sectional survey study including N = 668 employed people with experiences of dysmenorrhea. Our results show that symptom severity, disclosure of menstrual pain to the leader, and remote work are directly associated with period pain presenteeism. We further found that the presence of medical diagnosis moderates the association between symptom severity and presenteeism. Disclosure to the leader was associated with leader gender, leader-member exchange (LMX), and the absence of a medical diagnosis, indicating a potential mediating effect. We did not, however, find the perceptions of public beliefs regarding the concealment of menstruation to be related to presenteeism or disclosure. Our findings have important implications for research on menstrual health and occupational health management practice.

Primary dysmenorrhea is a common painful condition in women that recurs every month across the reproductive years. The recurrent nociceptive input into the central nervous system that occurs during menstruation each month in women with dysmenorrhea is hypothesized to lead to increased sensitivity to painful stimuli. We investigated whether women with primary dysmenorrhea are hyperalgesic to deep muscle pain induced by a cleanly nociceptive method of hypertonic saline injection. Pain stimulation was applied both within an area of referred menstrual pain (lower back) and at a remote site outside of referred menstrual pain (forearm) in 12 healthy women with severe dysmenorrhea and 9 healthy women without dysmenorrhea, at 3 phases of the menstrual cycle: menstruation and follicular and luteal phases. Women rated their pain severity on a 100-mm visual analog scale every 30 seconds after injection until the pain subsided. In both groups of women, menstrual cycle phase had no effect on the reported intensity and duration of muscle pain. However, women with dysmenorrhea had increased sensitivity to experimental muscle pain both at the site of referred pain and at a remote nonpainful site, as assessed by peak pain severity visual analog scale rating, area under the visual analog scale curve, and pain duration, compared to women without dysmenorrhea. These data show that women with severe primary dysmenorrhea, who experience monthly menstrual pain, are hyperalgesic to deep muscle pain compared to women without dysmenorrhea. PerspectiveOur findings that dysmenorrheic women are hyperalgesic to a clinically relevant, deep muscle pain in areas within and outside of referred menstrual pain indicates lasting changes in pain sensitivity outside of the painful period during menstruation.