Menstrual health and related problems in adolescent girls of Lucknow district: a cross sectional study

Authors

  • Geeta Singh Department of Community Medicine, KGMU, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2247-0228
  • Anish Khanna Department of Community Medicine, KGMU, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
  • Monika Agarwal Department of Community Medicine, KGMU, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
  • V. K. Singh Department of Community Medicine, KGMU, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
  • Rekha Sachan Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, KGMU, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20184810

Keywords:

Age at menarche, Menstrual problems

Abstract

Background: Menstruation and related problems are difficult issues for adolescent girls and are a common reason for consulting healthcare providers. The objective of the study was to study the age of menarche, menstrual pattern, menstrual related health problems and health seeking behaviour for it.

Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out in urban as well as rural schools of Lucknow district from August 2014 to September 2015. Multistage random sampling was used to select the requisite number of girls. A total of 600 girls of age group 10-19 years were interviewed and analysed using appropriate statistical methods

Results: The mean age of menarche of the total population was 13.2±1 years. During menstruation, urban girls had significantly excessive passage of clots (26.5%) and faced more discomfort in their routine activities (78.8%) when compared to their rural counterpart (25.2% and 73.4% respectively), whereas the relation was inverse with regard to school absenteeism that was significantly higher in rural girls (44.0%) than urban girls (32.3%). The usual age of menarche as well as the pattern of pre-menstrual symptoms varied significantly between the girls of rural and urban areas.

Conclusions: With few exceptions, menstrual health related problems have an unequal distribution in girls of rural and urban origin. Hence effective management of menstrual problems will lose its chase unless health education targeting all the three groups viz.; adolescent girls, concerned parents and teachers have to be uniformly strengthened.

References

Govt. of India; National Health Profile, Percent distribution of population by age and sex, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi, 2010.

World Health Organ. Physical status: The use and interpretation of anthropometry. Report of the WHO Expert Committee. World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser. 1995;854:1‑452.

Thomas F, Renaud F, Benefice E, de Meeüs T, Guegan JF: International variability of ages at menarche and menopause: patterns and main determinants. Human Biol. 2001,73:271-90.

Ziv A, Boulet JR, Slap GB. Utilization of physician offices by adolescents in the United States. Pediatrics. 1999;104:35-42.

Singh A, Kiran D, Singh H, Nel B, Singh P, Tiwari P; Prevalence and severity of dysmenorrhea: a problem related to menstruation, among first and second year female medical students. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 2008;5:389-97.

Sharma P, Malhotra C, Taneja DK, Saha R; Problems related to menstruation amongst adolescent girls. Indian J Pediatr. 2008;75:125-9.

Mashankar VA. Menstrual Problems in Adolescents. Bhave’s Textbook of Adolescent Medicine. First Edition. Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd; 2006.

Zegeye DT, Megabiaw B, Mulu A. Age at menarche and the menstrual pattern of secondary school adolescents in northwest Ethiopia. BMC Women's Health. 2009;9:29.

Verma PB, Pandya CM, Ramanuj VA, Singh MP; Menstrual pattern of adolescent school girls of Bhavnagar, Gujarat. NJIRM. 2011;2(1):38-40.

Lee LK, Chen PC, Lee KK, Kaur J. Menstruation among adolescent girls in Malaysia: A cross‑sectional school survey. Singapore Med J. 2006;47:869‑74.

McEvoy M, Chang J, Coupey SM. Common menstrual disorders in adolescence: Nursing interventions. MCN Am J Matern Child Nusr. 2004;29:41‑9.

Quint EH. Menstrual issues in adolescents with physical and developmental disabilities. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2008;1135:230‑6.

Juyal R, Kandpal SD, Semwal J, Negi KS. Practices of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls in a district of Uttarakhand. Ind J Comm Health. 2012;24(2):124-8.

Sachan B, Idris MZ, Jain S, Kumari R, Singh A. Age at menarche and menstrual problems among school-going adolescent girls of a North Indian district. J Basic Clin Reprod Sci. 2012;1:56-9.

Deo DS, Ghattargi CH. Menstrual problems in adolescent school girls: A comparative study in urban and rural area. Indian J Preventive Soc Med. 2007;38 (1-2):64-8.

Sule ST, Ukwenya JE. Menstrual Experiences of Adolescents in a Secondary School. J Turkish-German Gynecol Assoc. 2007;8 (1).

Houston AM, Abraham A, Huang Z, D'Angelo LJ. Knowledge, attitudes, and consequences of menstrual health in urban adolescent females. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2006;19(4):271-5.

Sharma P, Malhotra C, Taneja DK, Saha R. Problems related to menstruation amongst adolescent girls. Indian J Pediatr. 2008;75:125-9.

Agarwal AK, Agarwal A. A study of dysmenorrhea during menstruation in adolescent girls. Indian J Community Med. 2010;35:159-64.

Joseph GA, Bhattacharji S, Joseph A, Rao PS. General and reproductive health of adolescent girls in rural South India. Indian Pediatr. 1997;34:242-5.

Drife, JO, Magowan BA. Normal Menstrual Cycle. Clinical Obstetrics Gynecol. Saunders publication; 2004; 121.

Dean BB, Borenstein JE. A prospective assessment investigating the relationship between work productivity and impairment with premenstrual syndrome. J Occup Environ Med. 2004;46:649-56.

Banikarim C, Chacko MR, Kelder SH. Prevalence and impact of dysmenorrhea on hispanic female adolescents. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2000;154:1226-9.

Busch CM, Costa PT, Whitehead WE, Heller BR. Severe perimenstrual symptoms: prevalence and effects on absenteeism and health care seeking in a non clinical sample. Women Health. 1988;14:59-74.

Dambhare DG, Wagh SV, Dudhe JY. Age at Menarche and Menstrual Cycle Pattern among School Adolescent Girls in Central. Indian Global J Health Sci. 2012;4.

Thakre SB, Thakre SS, Ughade S, Thakre AD. Urban-rural differences in menstrual problems and practices of girl students in Nagpur, India. Indian Pediatrics. 2012;49:733–6.

Downloads

Published

2018-11-24

How to Cite

Singh, G., Khanna, A., Agarwal, M., Singh, V. K., & Sachan, R. (2018). Menstrual health and related problems in adolescent girls of Lucknow district: a cross sectional study. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 5(12), 5321–5328. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20184810

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles