An analysis of dysmenorrhoea and depressive symptoms in university

Abstract

AimDysmenorrhoea is a significant problem frequently observed in young women; it affects their daily life. The study aims were to describe and compare the presence of depressive symptoms in female university students with and without dysmenorrhoea and to infer which factors may influence dysmenorrhoea.

MethodsThis case-control study included 942 students, 471 in each group. The case group consisted of university students in a large university hospital in Eastern Turkey who applied to the adult emergency service and were diagnosed with dysmenorrhoea. The control group consisted of randomly selected students in the same university who did not report painful menstruation. The data were collected between September 2015 and May 2016 using a questionnaire.

ResultsDepressive symptoms were observed in 61.1% of the students with dysmenorrhoea and 38.9% of the students without dysmenorrhoea (P<.05). The logistic regression analysis showed that depressive symptoms (OR: 1.87) and family history of dysmenorrhoea (OR: 2.20) were found to be higher in the students with dysmenorrhoea than in the students without dysmenorrhoea.

ConclusionStudents with dysmenorrhoea were more likely to have depressive symptoms and a family history of dysmenorrhoea; findings alert health care professionals to the psychological as well as physiological effects.

C1 [Ucar, Tuba; Aksoy Derya, Yesim] Inonu Univ, Fac Hlth Sci, Dept Midwifery, TR-44280 Malatya, Turkey.

[Tashan, Sermin Timur; Nacar, Guelcin] Inonu Univ, Fac Nursing, Dept Women Hlth & Dis Nursing, Malatya, Turkey.