Premenstrual disorders in Polish adolescent girls: prevalence and risk factors

Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors of premenstrual disorders among Polish adolescent girls.

Material and methods: A total of 2500 females from the Upper Silesian region of Poland, aged 16 to 45 years, were eligible for a prospective population-based study. The subjects were recruited randomly by the regional public opinion research centre. The preliminary study population consisted of 1540 females. Seventy-two adolescent girls, aged 16 to 19 years, were included in the final analysis. The research was based on a self-prepared questionnaire containing socio-economic status, general health, medical and reproductive history, premenstrual symptoms based on American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists criteria for diagnosing premenstrual syndrome as well as American Psychiatric Association criteria for premenstrual dysphoric disorder and patient prospective daily ratings of symptoms.

Results: The mean age of the studied population was 17.27±0.97 years. In the studied population the majority of the adolescent girls lived in large cities of over 50,000 citizens (54.29%), were physically active declaring daily physical exercise (55.22%) and sexually active (54.17%). Study results indicated that the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder was 76.39% and 4.17%, respectively. The final statistical analysis revealed that only place of residence (large cities) increased the risk of premenstrual syndrome (OR=3.58; P=0.01).

Conclusion: Adolescent females living in urban areas are more vulnerable to premenstrual syndrome. Reproductive, sexual and socio-economic factors are not significant risk factors for premenstrual syndrome.