A study on dysmenorrhoea in relation to body mass index and haemoglobin levels among adolescent girls

Abstract

Aims: 1. To estimate the prevalence of dysmenorrhoea and associated systemic symptoms (gastro intestinal, eliminational, psychological, etc.), if any. 2. To study the association of BMI and Hb% with dysmenorrhoea and other associated systemic symptoms. Material & Methods: This was a cross-sectional - analytical study done among the adolescent girls who attained menarche by the time of study and were attending government secondary schools in the field practice area, Rural Health Training Centre of Dr.PSIMS & RF using predesigned, pre-tested and structured questionnaire and the data was analyzed by MS Excel Software- 2007, and presented in the form of Proportions and Chi-Square tests. Results: Among the study population of girls (n=179), 18 % were found to be undernourished, where as another 7 % were found to be overweight. According to the criteria followed, 92 (51.3%) girls were suffering from dysmenorrhoea. Among the total study subjects, 142 (79.3%) were anaemic, out of them 50 % were suffering from dysmenorrhoea. Statistically significant difference (p value < 0.05) was observed when the age at menarche and other systemic symptoms present were studied in relation to the levels of BMI. Conclusion: Dysmenorrhoea, anaemia & malnutrition were found to be significant problems among adolescent girls. Malnutrition found to be an important precipitating factor in the manifestation of symptoms associated with dysmenorrhoea.