Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Clinical Characteristics of Dysmenorrhea in Students from the School of Nursing at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana

Abstract

Objective: To identify the prevalence, risk factors, and clinical characteristics of dysmenorrhea in students from the School of Nursing at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana.

Methods: Cross sectional study in which an anonymous survey was applied to a sample of 291 students. The information was processed using SPSS® software version 17.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, Illinois, USA). A descriptive analysis of the variables was done. The OR was calculated with its confidence intervals of 95% to explore the risk factors, and a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Results: The prevalence found was 63.6%. The pain measurement had a median of 6 on a visual analog scale. A total of 61.6% of the students with dysmenorrhea suffered from changes in their daily activities; 35.7% were absent and 45.9% experienced a decline in academic performance. 24.3% of the students required emergency services due to pain and 42.7% visited the doctor. Also, 68.1% stated that they take some kind of medicine, 83.3% of whom self-medicate, and 77.8% take them when they feel the need. From the sample, 78.9% consider special treatments for pain, such as local heat, special drinks, rest, and massages. The risk factors with statistical significance included abundant bleeding and maternal dysmenorrhea.

Conclusions: The results are similar to those reported in the literature regarding prevalence, absenteeism, low consultation rates, self-medication, and irregular treatment. Further work needs to be done in order to enable students to take an active attitude regarding this issue as there are currently good therapeutic resources.