A Comparative Study on Menstruation Characteristics of 15-20-Year-Old Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) in Shiraz, 2015

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in reproductive-aged women. This syndrome is a metabolic disorder causing a series of acute problems threatening health. Regarding the wide range of adolescent population on the state population pyramid as well as the high prevalence of this syndrome, the present study was conducted to investigate the menstrual period characteristics of adolescents afflicted with this syndrome in Shiraz city. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted on 332 women with an age range of 15-20 years old (177 of whom were afflicted with PCOS and 155 were not) at Shiraz selected public centers and schools in 2015. The data collection instruments included individual information questionnaires such as the menarche age, menstrual disorders, and premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Data were analyzed through SPSS 16, using independent T-test, and Chi-Square test. The significant p-value was considered as less than 0.05. This study examined the relationship between PCOS and menstrual disorders, lower-abdominal pain in menstrual cycle interval, spotting between periods, and the amount of bleeding at the time of period (p<0.05). There was no significant relationship between PCOS and the menarche age, dysmenorrhea, and the menstrual period length (p> 0.05). Among PMS physical and mental symptoms, there was only a statistically significant relationship in terms of the amount of edema between the patients afflicted with PCOS and the control group (p=0.003). The mean of all participants’ menarche age was. 8 / 21 . The findings of this study indicated that, like most of the individuals afflicted with PCOS, the menstrual disorder symptoms are present in adolescents, too. Furthermore, PMS is frequently observed in teenagers. Therefore, due to the sensitivity of this age associated with mental issues, the afflicted adolescents need to be paid more attention so that the manifestations of symptoms and the related mental problems would not affect them to a larger extent.