Objective: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) represents a significant public health problem for women and it is particularly common in younger age groups. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence, severity, and determinants of PMS and dysmenorrhea and their effects on school performance in medical students.
Method: In this study (performed at Ataturk University School of Medicine in Erzurum, Turkey), 236 students were randomly selected from 554 female medical students. The participants who agreed to participate in the study completed the Premenstrual Assessment Form (PAF), a sociodemographic form, and a questionnaire assessing school performance and other functionality areas.
Results: PMS symptom severity was as follows: 32.2% (n=76) exhibited no symptoms, but mild, moderate, and severe symptom severity were 41.9% (n=99), 20.3% (n=48), and 5.5% (n=13), respectively. Higher levels of carbohydrate and junk food consumption were related with higher premenstrual symptom scores (x=18.475, p=0.030). Of all participants, 67% had dysmenorrhea, which was significantly related with severe premenstrual symptoms (x=14.471, p=0.002) and poorer school performance.
Conclusions: Diet recommendations (e.g., eating less junk food and carbohydrates) could help young women by reducing symptoms. Because dysmenorrhea seems to be strongly related with severe premenstrual symptoms and poorer educational performance, treatment strategies (even those merely aimed at pain control) could help to improve the class attendance and exam performance of female medical students.
Key words: premenstrual symptoms, dysmenorrhea, school performance
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