Menstrual disorders in female medical students in Thamar University

Objective: To measure the various menstrual dysfunction manifestations among female medical students in Thamar University, Yemen. Material and methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 116 out of 120 female medical students, who were selected randomly in Al Wahda Educational Hospital, Thamar University, between October 1st 2009 - April 31st 2010. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) was assessed. Each respondent was given 20 - 40 minutes to complete the questionnaire. Body weight and/or height, were measured and the body mass index (BMI) was calculated for any participant with unknown body weight and/or height. The results were categorized according to WHO criteria. Results: The prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 72.4%. Of those, 14.2% had severe pain. The prevalence of self- reported PMS was 24.13%. The absenteeism from college was reported in 42 female medical students (36.2%) and the mean number of absent days was 2.1 +/- 0.9 days. The most frequent symptoms were fatigue (62.9%), backache (27.6%), headache (24.1%), mood changes (25.9%), depression (23.2%) and irritability (19%). Menorrhagia was present in 35.3% of cases. Only 53.6% of those having a negative attitude towards the menses had PMS. Conclusions: Female medical students during their study have shown to have several menstrual cycle problems. Dysmenorrhea, PMS, and Menorrhagia are commonly reported in this study. Sickness absenteeism from the college is the most significant sequel which results in disruption of the student's training and academic performance.