---
title: What menstrual problems do adolescent girls experience? | Niyora
description: Most adolescent girls in Malaysia experience premenstrual syndrome (74.6 percent) or painful periods (69.4 percent). More than one-third have irregular cycle
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/menstruation-among-adolescent-girls-in-malaysia-a-cross-sectional-school-survey-2006/
---

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- What menstrual problems do adolescent girls experience?

Survey study, 2006

# What menstrual problems do adolescent girls experience?

Most adolescent girls in Malaysia experience premenstrual syndrome (74.6 percent) or painful periods (69.4 percent). More than one-third have irregular cycle lengths, but few seek medical care.

 Moderate study design

2,411 adolescent girls in secondary schools in Malaysia

## What they did

Cross-sectional survey of 2,411 secondary school girls in Malaysia using self-administered questionnaires in Bahasa Malaysia about menstrual characteristics, problems, and related factors.

## What they found

37.2 percent had abnormal cycle length. 74.6 percent experienced premenstrual syndrome. 69.4 percent had dysmenorrhoea (period pain). 18 percent reported excessive menstrual bleeding. Only 11.1 percent sought medical consultation. Mothers were the main information source (80 percent). Menstrual disorders were significantly more common in smokers and those with suicidal behaviors (p less than 0.05).

## What it means for you

Menstrual problems are extremely common in adolescent girls but most don't get medical help. Smoking and suicidal behavior are associated with worse symptoms. Results are from Malaysia only and may not apply globally.

2411

girls surveyed

74.6%

experienced premenstrual syndrome

69.4%

had period pain

## About the study

Original title Menstruation among adolescent girls in Malaysia: a cross-sectional school survey Authors Lee LK, Chen PC, Lee KK et al. Journal Singapore medical journal Year 2006 Study design Survey study Participants 2,411 What was tested None (observational survey) Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16990962/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16990962/)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Dysmenorrhea and period pain](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-dysmenorrhea/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/)[Adolescents and young people](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-adolescents/)[Stigma, attitudes and culture](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-stigma-culture/)

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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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