--- title: What are the main symptoms and impacts of severe period pain in teenage girls? description: The most common symptoms are cramps, tiredness, backache, swollen belly, and tender breasts. Teenagers with worse symptoms miss more school and take more pain url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/related-factors-and-consequences-of-menstrual-distress-in-adolescent-girls-with-2005/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - What are the main symptoms and impacts of severe period pain in teenage girls? Survey study, 2005 # What are the main symptoms and impacts of severe period pain in teenage girls? The most common symptoms are cramps, tiredness, backache, swollen belly, and tender breasts. Teenagers with worse symptoms miss more school and take more painkillers. Early or limited evidence 198 teenage girls with severe period cramps at a technical college in Taiwan. ## What they did 198 teenage girls from a technical college in Taiwan answered questionnaires about their period symptoms, pain levels, and attitudes toward menstruation. ## What they found The five most common symptoms were cramps, tiredness, backache, swollen abdomen, and tender breasts. Four factors together explained 59% of girls' period distress: age, mother's job, pain level, and attitude toward periods. The worse the distress, the more girls missed class and the more painkillers they used. ## What it means for you Understanding these symptoms can help schools create better health programs for girls with bad period cramps. The main limitation is that the study only included girls from one college in Taiwan, so results may not apply to all teenagers in other settings. 198 teenage girls studied 59% of period distress explained by age, mother's job, pain, and attitude ## About the study Original title Related factors and consequences of menstrual distress in adolescent girls with dysmenorrhea Authors Chen HM, Chen CH Journal The Kaohsiung journal of medical sciences Year 2005 Study design Survey study Participants 198 What was tested None (observational study). Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/s1607-551x(09)70288-8](https://doi.org/10.1016/s1607-551x(09)70288-8) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Dysmenorrhea and period pain](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-dysmenorrhea/)[Fatigue and energy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-fatigue/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Work and productivity](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-work/)[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/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Systematic review, 2025 Does teaching adolescent girls about their menstrual cycle and health help reduce period pain and PMS? Non-randomised trial, 2026 Does video-guided digital menstrual exercise reduce PMS and period pain in adolescent girls? Survey study, 1999 How common are menstrual problems in teenage girls and do they relate to early puberty? Non-randomised trial, 2026 Can yoga reduce PMS pain in teenage girls? Survey study, 2022 How common is PMS in university students and what helps them cope with symptoms? Survey study, 2006 How common are PMS and period problems in teen girls, and do attitudes affect school attendance? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗