Abstract

PREVALENCE OF MENSTRUAL DISORDERS IN HOSTELLERS AND ITS EFFECT ON EDUCATION – A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Dr. Jasmine Gujarathi*, Dr. Dilip Jani, 3Dr. ARV Murthy

Abstract

Background: Menstruation is a vulnerable period in every woman’s life and for young and adolescent girls it is more because of lack of information and shame. Menstrual disorders especially dysmenorrhoea is prevalent more amongst adolescent young girls. Many times this causes absenteeism in school and colleges. Knowledge regarding this is necessary to guide such girls and for further clinical evaluation. Objectives: (1) To know the prevalence of menstrual disorders in young hostellers. (2) To know the effect of menstrual disorders on education. Materials and methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among 798 young girls residing in different hostels of New Vallabh Vidyanagar of Anand district of Gujarat, with the help of a pre-designed questionnaire. Data were analyzed statistically by simple proportions. Results: Maximum, 68.19% of girls had menarche between age of 13 to 15 years. 29.30% girls suffered from irregular patterns of menstrual bleeding whereas 47.02% had painful menstruation. 313 (39.22%) girls suffered from backache during menstruation, whereas 240 (30.08%) suffered from abdominal pain /cramp. 349 girls (51.25%) amongst 681 respondents complained of irritation which caused 209 (85.65%) of 244 respondents to miss college every month in which 136 (40.71%) of 390 respondents claimed to remain absent for whole day. Conclusion: Menstrual discomfort contributed at absenteeism in colleges for half day or complete first day of menstruation. Amongst hostellers, emotional and physical discomfort during menstruation is a major issue as compared to hygiene facilities.

Keywords: Menstrual disorders, woman, hygiene facilities.