Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Menstrual disturbances can be considered as a sign of reproductive system disorders in women in reproductive ages. These disturbances can be indicators of serious underlying problems. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of menstrual related manifestation among Iranian women.

Methods: This was a population-based study conducted among women (n=941) aged 18–45 years. The participants who met the eligibility criteria were selected from four provinces using quota stratified cluster sampling, and invited for further comprehensive interview.

Results: The most common menstrual disorders in Iranian women were dysmenorrhea (67/5%) and premenstrual syndrome (54/9%) respectively. Prevalence of other non-anatomical abnormal uterine bleeding was 19.9%. Some demographic factors such as younger age, married at older ages, as well as celibacy was correlated with the incidence of dysmenorrheal (P<0.5). The results have shown that more than 83% of women younger than 25 years old suffer from dysmenorrheal. Younger women (<25 years) are 2.3 times as likely to have dysmenorrheal than women 25 years and older (OR=2.3, 95% CI: 1.5–3.7, P<0.0001). Also, never married women are 2.1 times as likely to have dysmenorrhea than married women (OR=2.1, 95% CI: 1.2–3.6, P<0.0001). Higher BMI and higher levels of education had a significant relationship with oligomenorrhea and premenstrual syndrome respectively (P<0.5). The result of this study has shown that younger menarche age was significantly associated with the occurrence of menorrhagia.

Conclusion: Almost one out of every four Iranian women in reproductive age suffers from at least one menstrual disorder. Encouraging women to change lifestyles in reproductive ages, counselling and giving adequate information on menstrual disorders can play a main role in reducing the adverse effects of these disorders.