Premenstrual syndrome among single and married women in the city of Eyvan-e-Gharb

Background: The premenstrual syndrome is a common problem in women. Because of contradictory findings about the prevalence and role of age and marital status, this syndrome was compared between single and married women.   

Methods: This analytical-descriptive research was carried out upon 230 single and married women in the city of Eyvan-e-Gharb. The premenstrual syndrome questionnaire (Cronbach's alpha reliability=0.88) was used to collect the data.  Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Scheffe’s post hoc tests (P<0.05)

Results: There was a significant difference between the two age groups of single girls (15-28 and 21-28 years old) and the married women (31-38 years old) in terms of the intensity of symptoms. Also, a significant difference was reported between the 15-18 year-old age group and 21-28 year-old girls and 31-38 year-old women. Further, there was a significant difference between the 21-28 year-old girls and 31-38 year-old women.  Prevalence and type of physical and psychological symptoms of premenstrual syndrome were different in each group. The 21-28 year-old girls, with the mean of 26.87, were reported to have the highest level of premenstrual syndrome symptoms. The 31-38 year-old women, with the mean of 26.8, were ranked second, and the 15-18 year-old girls, with the mean of 20.54, indicated the minimum level of prevalence.

Conclusion: The findings of the current study showed that premenstrual syndrome is a common problem among the girls and women of different age groups, but is lower in 15-18 years age group. It occurs as both physical psychological symptoms in females and disturbs their compatibility.