Survey study, 2013
How many college students have premenstrual symptoms?
Most do. 90 percent of college students report at least one premenstrual symptom, but only a few with severe symptoms seek help.
What they did
Cross-sectional study of 537 college students in Turkey. Researchers asked about premenstrual symptoms using a screening tool.
What they found
Mean age was 21.4 years. 90 percent reported at least one symptom. 34.1 percent had moderate symptoms and 19.5 percent had severe symptoms. Moderate symptoms lasted about 5.7 days per cycle, and severe symptoms lasted about 6.1 days. Average symptom duration over years was 3 to 6 years. Only 5.5 percent of those with severe symptoms had sought treatment.
What it means for you
Premenstrual symptoms are very common in college-aged women, but most do not realize symptoms are treatable. Only a tiny fraction of those with severe symptoms get treatment, meaning many women suffer without knowing help exists. The study only included Turkish college students, so patterns may differ elsewhere.
90%
Reported at least one symptom
5.5%
With severe symptoms who sought treatment
5.7-6.1 days
Symptom duration per cycle
About the study
- Original title
- Prevalence of Premenstrual Symptoms Among College Students
- Authors
- Gülden Uzer Ekin, Murat Ekin, Kadir Savan
- Journal
- Turkiye Klinikleri Journal of Medical Sciences
- Year
- 2013
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 9
- What was tested
- None—observational study
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.5336/medsci.2011-25764
Topics
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