Survey study, 2022
How common is premenstrual syndrome among female medical students and does it affect their grades?
65.4% of female medical students had premenstrual syndrome, but it did not significantly affect their academic performance.
What they did
Cross-sectional study of 257 female medical students in Saudi Arabia using a self-administered questionnaire about menstrual and premenstrual symptoms.
What they found
65.4% had PMS using a scale cut-off of 111. PMS was associated with menstrual pain (p<0.001), family history of PMS (p=0.016), dysmenorrhea (p=0.002), and back pain or cramps (p<0.001 and p=0.007). It did not impact academic performance but affected the daily work of many students.
What it means for you
PMS is very common in this student population but did not lower their grades. However, it did affect daily activities and was linked to pain symptoms and family history. The study was limited to one university in Saudi Arabia and relied on students reporting their own symptoms.
65.4%
had PMS
257
students studied
21.8 years
average age
About the study
- Original title
- Prevalence of Premenstrual Syndrome and Its Effect on Academic Performance among Taibah University Student in Al Madinah
- Authors
- Alhawsawi NM, W Shiekh, 2Consultant Family Medicine et al.
- Journal
- Journal of Family Medicine
- Year
- 2022
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 257
- What was tested
- None
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.26420/jfammed.2022.1301
Topics
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