Prevalence of Premenstrual Symptoms and Symptom Severity among Female Medical Students - An Institutional Study

BACKGROUND Premenstrual symptoms are generally seen 7 - 10 days before the menstruation period and are collectively called as premenstrual syndrome. Dysmenorrhea is the most common premenstrual symptom that affects the lifestyle and activity of young women. This study was aimed at estimating the prevalence of premenstrual symptoms and its severity in female medical student population of Government Medical college, Patiala, Punjab. METHODS 500 female medical students aged between 18 - 28 years were included in the study. Female students were asked to fill preformed questionnaire to elicit gynaecological information as well as the 4-point grading scale menstrual distress questionnaires. Symptoms were divided into two groups: physical symptoms and behavioural / psychological symptoms. RESULTS Only 30.24 % of the students reported one or more symptoms; of these, 22.76 % were having mild, 5.6 % moderate and 1.87 % severe degree of symptoms. From physical and behavioural / psychological symptoms, it was noticed that behavioural / psychological symptoms predominate. Among physical symptoms, breast tenderness is experienced most followed by bloating, and weight gain during premenstrual phase. Among psychological / behavioural symptoms, irritability predominates followed by restlessness & mood swings. CONCLUSIONS Diagnosis is best achieved through daily rating symptoms over at least one menstrual cycle; clinicians can ask patients to choose their worst symptoms and chart the severity daily, or can select a validated scale such as the Daily Record of Severity of Problems. Disappearance of symptoms after menstruation is the key to diagnosis. KEYWORDS Premenstrual Syndrome, Depressive Disorder, Prevalence, Dysmenorrhea