Korean J Obstet Gynecol.  2011 Sep;54(9):523-528. 10.5468/KJOG.2011.54.9.523.

Premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea in the career women at Bucheon City

• Kim TH
• Park HS
• Lee HH
• Chung SH

• KMID: 2274077
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5468/KJOG.2011.54.9.523

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
We wanted to evaluate the prevalence of dysmenorrhea and premenstrual syndrome (PMS) among the career women of Bucheon City and their knowledge of and ability to seek treatment regarding their dysmenorrhea and premenstrual syndrome.
METHODS
A questionnaire survey regarding premenstrual symptoms was conducted for 289 career women. The cycle of menstruation, the regularity, the amount of menstruation and the intensity of dysmenorrheal were assessed and the symptoms were classified according to their intensity and persistence. Women's awareness of PMS and the physician consultations were also evaluated.
RESULTS
The approximate prevalence of PMS by the World Health Organization's International Classification of Disease (ICD-10) and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology criteria was 74% and 38%, respectively. The predominant symptoms of PMS were abdominal bloating, anger, weight gain, sleep disturbance, attention deficit, drowsiness, nausea and vomiting. PMS was significantly associated with the large amount of menstruation (P = 0.017) and there was no significant relation with the cycle, the severity of dysmenorrhea and the use of analgesics. Most of the women (94.1%) had no knowledge regarding the terminology pertaining to PMS and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
CONCLUSION
PMS occurs frequently and it has a significant impact on the activity of career women. However, career women have little knowledge about PMS and they only infrequently consult their physicians. Physicians should educate and inform career women about PMS and this can help to increase the quality of life of these women.

Keyword

Premenstrual syndromes; Premenstrual tension; Dysmenorrhea; Prevalence

MeSH Terms

Analgesics
Anger
Dysmenorrhea
Female
Gynecology
Humans
Menstruation
Nausea
Obstetrics
Premenstrual Syndrome
Prevalence
Quality of Life
Surveys and Questionnaire
Referral and Consultation
Sleep Stages
Vomiting
Weight Gain
World Health
World Health Organization
Analgesics