---
title: How common are period pain and PMS in Korean teenage girls? | Niyora
description: Very common. 82% of girls experienced painful periods and 58.8% experienced PMS symptoms. Most girls didn't seek medical help.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/a-study-on-the-menstruation-of-korean-adolescent-girls-in-seoul-2011/
---

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- How common are period pain and PMS in Korean teenage girls?

Survey study, 2011

# How common are period pain and PMS in Korean teenage girls?

Very common. 82% of girls experienced painful periods and 58.8% experienced PMS symptoms. Most girls didn't seek medical help.

 Moderate study design

538 teenage girls in Seoul, Korea (surveyed July-November 2007)

## What they did

Researchers surveyed 538 teenage girls at a hospital between July and November 2007 about their periods, including when they started menstruating, pain, and PMS symptoms.

## What they found

Girls first got their period at an average age of 12.6 years. 82% had painful periods with the main pain in the abdomen (53.2%) and lower back (34.2%). Only 15.2% of girls with period pain took medication. 58.8% had premenstrual syndrome symptoms, mainly fatigue (36.4%), nervousness (38.7%), and menstrual cramps (46.5%). 87.6% didn't take medicine for their PMS symptoms, 11.4% took painkillers, and only 0.1% visited a doctor.

## What it means for you

Period pain and PMS are very common in teenage girls, but most don't get medical help. The study found that family history was linked to period pain. The main limit is that this is a single hospital survey from 2007.

82%

girls with painful periods

58.8%

girls with PMS symptoms

12.6 years

average age at first menstruation

## About the study

Original title A study on the menstruation of Korean adolescent girls in Seoul Authors Lee JC, Yu BK, Byeon JH et al. Journal Korean journal of pediatrics Year 2011 Study design Survey study Participants 435 What was tested None Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.3345/kjp.2011.54.5.201](https://doi.org/10.3345/kjp.2011.54.5.201)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Dysmenorrhea and period pain](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-dysmenorrhea/)[Irritability and anger](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-irritability-anger/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Adolescents and young people](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-adolescents/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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