Abstract:
Background and objective: Variations in menstrual patterns due to several factors are
frequently observed among young females. Common menstrual problems and stress are
two very common complaints among female medical students. This study aims to
describe the prevalence of common menstrual problems, levels of stress and the
association between common menstrual problems and stress among female medical
students of the University of Jaffna.
Methods: This was an institution-based descriptive cross-sectional study. Data was
collected from November to December 2022 from female medical students in the
University of Jaffna using a self-administered questionnaire. Perceived stress level was
assessed using PSS-10 (Perceived Stress Scale). Perceived stress above 27 was
considered as “with perceived stress”. This study was analyzed by SPSS (26th version)
using descriptive statistics and chi-square test. P value <0.05 was considered as
statistically significant.
Results: Among 389 students, 97.4%, 67.9%, 23.1%, 13.9%, 11.1%, and 6.4% reported
having dysmenorrhea, heavy menstrual periods, abnormal menstrual intervals, abnormal
extra light period, abnormal bleeding and intermenstrual spotting, and three or more
missed periods in a row, respectively. More than half of the students were affected by
premenstrual symptoms. In total, 36.5% of participants were stressed on most occasions
on a usual basis. There was a significant association (<0.05) between psychological
stress and heavy menstrual bleeding (p=0.009) and abnormal menstruation intervals
(p=0.041). However, there was no evidence of a statistically significant association
between psychological stress and abnormal bleeding or spotting between menstruation,
abnormal extra-light periods, three or more missed periods in a row during the last 4
months, any of the premenstrual symptoms or dysmenorrhea.
Conclusion: The study found a statistically significant association between
psychological stress and heavy menstrual bleeding, as well as abnormal menstrual
intervals. However, dysmenorrhea, despite its high prevalence among menstrual
abnormalities, did not show evidence of a statistically significant association with
psychological stress. Even though common menstrual problems in the target population
were not strongly associated with psychological stress, all medical faculties should make
arrangements for the identification of students with psychological stress and menstrual
problems and implement ways to overcome these issues.
