Survey study, 2016
How common is PMS in Pakistani university students and what are the main symptoms?
PMS is common, affecting 60% of the 520 students studied. The most frequent symptoms were fatigue (86.84%), irritability (71.05%), and breast tenderness (67.65%).
What they did
Cross-sectional study of 520 university students in Karachi with average age 20 years. Researchers collected information about PMS and menstrual cycles from calendar records and symptom charts tracked over 3 consecutive cycles.
What they found
60% of students had PMS symptoms. Among the 312 students with PMS: fatigue affected 86.84%, irritability 71.05%, breast tenderness 67.65%, appetite changes ranging from 42.65% to 51.47%, abdominal bloating 47.06%, and depression 13.24%. In the 19-24 age group specifically, irritability reached 92% and breast tenderness 82% (p<0.001).
What it means for you
PMS is very common in this student population. The symptom pattern differs from typical Western populations, possibly due to cultural differences. Since this is an observational study, it shows what symptoms occur together but cannot prove what causes them.
60%
had PMS symptoms
86.84%
experienced fatigue
312
students with PMS
About the study
- Original title
- PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME SYMPTOMS (PMS) AND PREVALENCE AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN
- Authors
- Sitwat Zehra, Abid Azhar, Afsheen Arif et al.
- Journal
- International Research Journal of Pharmacy
- Year
- 2016
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 520
- What was tested
- None; observational study
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.7897/2230-8407.04420
Topics
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