Prevalence of dysmenorrhea in female students in a Chinese university: a prospective study

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of dysmenorrhea in a prospective approach. Menstruation-related diary data were obtained from 2640 female college students in North Sichuan Medical College; dysmenorrhea and related factors were analyzed. Dysmenorrhea occurred in 56.4% of students; 6.5% of dysmenorrheal students suffered from “hard to bear” (unbearable) menstrual pain, and 6.5% had pre-menstrual dysmenorrhea. The more severe dysmenorrhea was, the longer dysmenorrhea lasted, and the longer the duration of menstruation and the larger the amount of menstrual blood flow appeared to be. Dysmenorrhea occurred on 37% of the menstrual dates on average and was unrelated to irregularity of menstrual cycles. The percentages of students taking medicine with mild, moderate and unbearable dysmenorrhea were 4.0%, 13.3% and 23.7%, respectively.