Magnitude of premenstrual dysphoric disorder and associated factors among high school girls, Mekelle, North Ethiopia

Background: the more severe form of premenstrual syndrome, premenstrual dysphoric disorder is characterized by mood and physical symptoms which impair different aspects of women's life. It still remains less studied public health area in African region, including Ethiopia. With the aim of determining its magnitude and to identify associated factors, this study was carried out. Methods and Materials: institution based cross sectional study was employed among 181 in school young girls at Ayder secondary and Preparatory school, Mekelle from February to June 2015. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders 4th edition (DSM IV) was used to asses premenstrual dysphoric disorder; also Zung self-rating anxiety scale was employed to assess anxiety disorder. Self-administered questionnaire prepared in local language (Tigrigna) was used to collect data; after stratifying for grades, systematic random sampling with proportional allocation was employed. Data was analyzed using binary logistic regression through SPSS window 20. Result: the age of participants lie from 14 to 22 years with mean and median ages of 16.6 and 17 years respectively. The magnitude of premenstrual dysphoric disorder was 30.9% (95% CI, 22.4%-37.8%). Also 16% had anxiety disorder. The age of menarche for the age group 13 to 16 years was about 70.7%; in addition the time of next menses was within 21 to 35 days for 50.8% of the participants. The factors associated with PMDD were early menarche age of 13 to 16 years (AOR = 3.11, 95% CI(1.19, 8.12)) and longer duration of menstruation (AOR = 2.32, 95% CI(1.07, 5.05)) Conclusion: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder among adolescents was higher. Menstrual health of young school girls particularly those with longer menstruation and in the age group 13 to 16 years need significant public health attention.