Survey study, 2010
How common is premenstrual syndrome in female university students?
PMS is very common: 85.5% of students experienced symptoms regularly. We have low confidence since this is one study from one university in Nigeria.
What they did
Survey of 200 consecutive female university students aged 16-31 who had never been pregnant at the University of Calabar. Women reported whether they experienced PMS symptoms.
What they found
85.5% regularly experienced symptoms suggestive of PMS. Most common symptoms were lower abdominal pain (86%), pimples or puffy face (67%), tender or painfully engorged breast (63%), and depression or tension (55%). Least frequent were back ache (14%) and common cold (11%). 42% complained of severe abdominal pain.
What it means for you
Most university students experience PMS symptoms with abdominal pain being very common. The study is from one university in Nigeria, so results may differ in other countries.
200
women studied
85.5%
experienced PMS symptoms
42%
complained of severe abdominal pain
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual syndrome: Prevalence in students of the University of Calabar, Nigeria
- Authors
- AB Antai, WA Udezi, EE Ekanem et al.
- Journal
- African Journal of Biomedical Research
- Year
- 2010
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 200
- What was tested
- None
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.4314/ajbr.v7i2.54067
Topics
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