Prevalence of primary dysmenorrhea and some related factors in girls aged 14 to 18 in Qazvin city

Background: Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) refers to menstrual pain without any organic cases which is the most common cyclic pain in woman of reproductive age. Dysmenorrhea’s severity is influenced by several factors. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of primary dysmenorrhea and its related factors in girls 14-18 years in Qazvin. Methods: This cross- sectional study was conducted on 400 students of Qazvin secondary high schools by using random cluster sampling in 2016. The inclusion criteria were as follows: age range between 14-18 years, regular menstrual pattern and the exclusion criteria were as follows: use of any medication, chronic disease, and irregular menstrual cycles. Data collection was performed through checklists prepared by the researchers, which consisted of two parts: demographic features, menstruation and heritable backgrounds. For data analysis, Chi-square and Pearson, Spearman correlation tests were performed. Findings: The mean age of participants and menarche was 16.16±0.59 and 13.06±1.15 years respectively. The mean length of the menstrual cycle and duration was 31.02±9.60 and 6.33±1.26 days respectively. According to the results, 330 cases (82.5%) of participants had primary dysmenorrhea. A significant correlation was found between severity of dysmenorrhea with duration of menstrual (P=0.007), weight (P=0.04) and family history of dysmenorrhea (P<0.001). Conclusion: High prevalence of dysmenorrhea among teenage girls and the severity of PD is related to the duration of menstrual, weight, and family history of dysmenorrhea.