English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Background  Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is one of the most common gynecological conditions among young females, which has a significant negative impact on health-related quality of life and productivity. Despite its high prevalence, the evidence is limited regarding the management-seeking practices and its perceived effectiveness among females with PD.    Methods  This is a cross-sectional study conducted among 550 female students in six universities across Lebanon. The prevalence of PD, associated risk factors, and management-seeking practices were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire.    Results  The prevalence of PD was 80.9%. Most of the females with PD described their menstrual pain as moderate (56%) to severe (34.6%), which significantly affected their daily activities and studying ability ( P  < 0.001). The major risk factors associated with PD included heavy menstrual flow (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 10.28), family history of PD (AOR = 2.52), history of weight loss attempt (AOR = 2.05), and medical specialization (AOR = 1.663). Only 36.9% of females with PD sought formal medical advice. Most dysmenorrheic females (76.4%) received medications for the management of PD, and remarkably none of them took hormonal contraceptives. Drugs commonly used for PD were mefenamic acid (26.2%), ibuprofen (25%), and paracetamol (11.5%), which were administered when the pain started (58.2%). All medications were significantly effective in reducing the pain score ( P  = 0.001), and most NSAIDs were more potent than paracetamol in managing PD ( P  = 0.001). However, no significant difference in adverse effects among medications was revealed. Moreover, no superiority of any individual NSAID for pain relief was established. Nevertheless, mefenamic acid was associated with the lowest risk of abdominal pain (OR: 0.03,  P  = 0.005) and the highest risk of flank pain (OR = 12,  P  = 0.02).    Conclusions  Suboptimal management of PD is practiced among university students in Lebanon. Therefore, health care providers should educate dysmenorrheic females to optimize the self-management support of PD. Furthermore, future research is required to investigate females’ misconceptions about hormonal contraceptives in the management of PD, aiming to raise awareness and correct misconceptions.    Supplementary Information  The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12905-021-01532-w.

Prevalence, risk factors, and management practices of primary dysmenorrhea among young females