Quality of Life among University Students with Premenstrual Syndrome

The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Faculdade Pernambucana de Saúde, in Recife, Brazil, between August 2016 and July 2017. Sociodemographic, gynecological, and lifestyle variables, and PMS occurrence, were investigated among 642 students. The short form of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL Bref) questionnaire was used to evaluate four domains of the quality of life of the students: physical, mental, social relationships, and environmental. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ criteria were used to define PMS.

Results

Of the 642 students, 49.9% had PMS, 23.3% had mild PMS and 26.6% had premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Most of the students were between 18 and 24 years old, had regular menstrual cycles, and practiced physical activity. Regarding the physical and mental domains of the WHOQOL-Bref questionnaire, a statisticallysignificant difference was observed between the students who did not have and those who had mild or PMDD (p < 0.001). A difference was also found between the students who did not have PMS and those who had mild PMS in the social relationships (p = 0.001) and environmental domains (p = 0.009).

Conclusion

Mild PMS and PMDD are prevalent among university students on healthrelated courses, and the syndrome can affect the students’ self-assessment of all the domains of quality of life.

Keywords:
medical student; menstruation disturbances; premenstrual dysphoric disorder; premenstrual syndrome; quality of life

Domains	Facets
Physical	Pain and discomfortEnergy and fatigueSleep and restMobilityActivities of daily livingDependence on medication or treatmentsWork capacity
Mental	Positive feelingsThinking, learning, memory, and concentrationSelf-esteemBody image and appearanceNegative feelingsSpirituality/religion/personal beliefs
Social relationships	Personal relationshipsSocial supportSexual activity
Environmental	Physical security and protectionHome environmentFinancial resourcesHealth and social care: availability and qualityOpportunities to acquire new information and skillsParticipation in recreation/leisure opportunitiesPhysical environment: pollution/noise/traffic/climateTransport

Variables	N= 649	%
Age (years)
Mean 22.1 (SD= 4.4)
18–24	540	83.2
25–35	90	13.9
> 35	13	2.0
Not informed	6	0.9
City
Recife	510	78.6
RMR^* Including those who were not sexually active.	117	18.0
Rural area	21	3.2
Unknown	1	0.2
Marital status
Single	598	92.1
With partner	49	7.5
Unknown	2	0.4
Employed
Yes	94	14.5
No	548	84.4
Unknown	7	0.7
Live with their parents
Yes	500	77.0
No	149	23.0

Variables	N= 649	%
Age at menarche (years)
8–12	414	63.8
13–20	224	34.5
Unknown	11	1.7
Sexually active
Yes	396	61.0
No	251	38.7
Unknown	2	0.3
Contraceptive method
None^* Including those who were not sexually active.	292	45.0
Hormonal	242	37.3
Non-hormonal	98	15.1
Unknown	17	2.6
Regular cycles
Yes	467	71.9
No	177	27.3
Unknown	5	0.8

Variables	N= 649	%
Alcoholic beverage consumption
Yes	431	66.4
No	218	33.6
Frequency of alcohol consumption^* Only for the 431 participants that reported their alcoholic beverage consumption. (N= 431)
Weekly	128	29.7
Monthly	123	28.5
Rarely	179	41.5
Unknown	1	0.3
Physical activity
More than twice a week	363	55.9
None/rarely	282	43.5
Unknown	4	0.6

Domains	Without PMS	With mild PMS	With PMDD	p^* Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare and test the equality of the means between the groups. Pairwise comparisons were performed using the Tukey method. In both tests, we used the significance level of 5% (p< 0.05).
Domains	Mean ±SD	Mean ±SD	Mean ±SD
Physical	3.8^a± 0.5	3.6^b± 0.6	3.6^b± 0.5	< 0.001
Mental	3.8^a± 0.5	3.6^b± 0.6	3.6^b± 0.5	< 0.001
Social relationships	4.0^a± 0.6	3.8^b± 0.7	4.0^ab± 0.7	0.010
Environmental	3.7^a± 0.6	3.6^b± 0.6	3.6^ab± 0.6	0.009
Mean score	3.8^a± 0.4	3.6^b± 0.5	3.7^b± 0.4	< 0.001
Question 1	4.2^a± 0.6	4.1^ab± 0.6	4.0^b± 0.7	0.005
Question 2	3.9 ± 0.9	3.7 ± 0.9	3.7 ± 0.9	0.099

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[1] Address for correspondence
Ana Laura Carneiro Gomes Ferreira, Departamento de Pesquisa em Saúde daMulher, Instituto deMedicina Integral Professor Fernando Figueira. Rua dos Coelhos, 300 Boa Vista, 50.070-550, Recife, PE, Brazil (e-mail: analaura@imip.org.br).