Survey study, 2025
What are the most common premenstrual symptoms among adolescent girls in Chandigarh?
The most common premenstrual symptoms were headaches (67%), breast pain (62%), and anxiety or tension (59%). These findings are from one city in India with 100 girls, so they may not represent all adolescent girls.
What they did
Descriptive cross-sectional study of 100 girls aged 15-18 in government schools in Chandigarh using a structured questionnaire about menstrual health, practices, and premenstrual symptoms.
What they found
67% reported headaches, 62% reported breast pain, and 59% experienced anxiety or tension as premenstrual symptoms. 94% used sanitary pads, 63% changed pads at school, but only 19% had good menstrual health perception and 34% had good hygiene practices. 63% had premenarche awareness with mothers and sisters as primary information sources. Poor maternal education was significantly associated with poor menstrual perception in daughters (p=0.040). 66% reported food restrictions and hesitance to discuss menstruation with male family members.
What it means for you
Premenstrual symptoms are very common in this group, but cultural stigma and low menstrual health awareness limit good practices despite access to sanitary products. Maternal education influences daughters' menstrual knowledge. Results are from one city in India and may not apply to other settings or countries.
67%
reported headaches
62%
reported breast pain
59%
experienced anxiety or tension
About the study
- Original title
- A study of menstrual health perceptions, practices and prevalence of premenstrual symptoms in school-going adolescent girls in Chandigarh
- Authors
- Anuna Vinod, J. S. Thakur, Vineeth Rajagopal et al.
- Journal
- International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health
- Year
- 2025
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 100
- What was tested
- None - observational study
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20253252
Topics
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