How do menstrual pain and PMS affect female medical students' academic and social life?

: Dysmenorrhea and Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) are common problems among females. They affect many aspects of their daily activities, improper performance in college, and college absences. Objectives: to assess impact of dysmenorrhea and PMS on academic performance and to identify the association between dysmenorrhea and body mass index (BMI). Method: This cross sectional study included 175 female students attending Benha faculty of Medicine between September 2022 to January 2023. Data was collected using a convenience sampling method through a self-administered online questionnaire which was composed of questions about menstruation and its characteristics, effects of menstruation on academic performance and its association with BMI, premenstrual syndrome and its impacts. Results:this study showed that 90.3% of participants suffer from dysmenorrhea, most of students (57.7%) had severe dysmenorrhea. There was statistically significant positive correlation between severity of dysmenorrhea and reduction of academic performance (P=0.004), reduction of social life activities /hobbies (P<0.001), affection of relationship with others (P=0.012), and duration of annual university absenteeism (P<0.001), while negative correlation with BMI. Most of participants suffer from mild premenstrual symptoms. Conclusion:Dysmenorrhea is highly prevalent among female attending Benha faculty of Medicine. Also, there was negative impact of dysmenorrhea on academic performance so, there is need to enhance the students' awareness about menstrual pain and treatment approaches to lessen the educational process's negative impact.

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