Analysis of psycho-emotional characteristics of female students of higher educational institutions suffering from dysmenorrhea

Psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety and stress may have a bidirectional relationship with dysmenorrhea. In other words, monthly recurring menstrual pain may increase the risk of depression, anxiety or stress, and vice versa. In some cases, the presence of these psychological disorders aggravates the severity of menstrual pain Objective. To study the main components of reproductive health, such as menstrual function and the psycho-emotional component during menstruation, in female students of Khabarovsk universities using an Internet resource. Materials and methods. We conducted an anonymous survey of 1050 female students of higher education institutions (HEIs) in Khabarovsk using the continuous sampling method. The respondents answered 22 questions of the questionnaire. The severity of pain syndrome was assessed using a 10-point visual analogue scale. Differences between independent sample populations with a normal distribution were assessed using Student's t-test and Mann–Whitney U-test in samples with an abnormal distribution of the studied feature and were considered statistically significant at p<0.05. Correlation analysis was performed using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient, the strength of the relationship between the observed phenomena was assessed using the Chaddock scale. Results. The analysis of the study results showed that the study was predominantly attended by girls (43.6%) aged 18–19 years (p<0.001), i.e. they were mainly first- and second-year female students. The average age of the sample was 20.0±1.7 years [min 18; max 27]. Regular menstrual cycle was reported by 78.2% of respondents. Episodic pain during menstruation was reported by 71.0% of female students (p<0.001). Most often, respondents characterized the pain as aching, twisting or tearing. At the same time, they noted that in 46.0% of cases the pain tired them; in 27.3% it was exhausting; in 13.0% it irritated; in 5.8% it weakened; in 4.4% it caused fear, anxiety, horror; in 3.5±0.6% (n=33) – enraged. The overwhelming majority of survey participants noted that their psycho-emotional state changed during menstruation. In 93.4% of cases, respondents took non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs without a doctor’s recommendation (p<0.001). In 14.3% of cases, girls were forced to resort to calling an ambulance. Conclusion. Insufficient information about menstrual health is a problem of reproductive literacy, defined as the ability to make decisions based on receiving, understanding and processing information about the physiological and psycho-emotional characteristics of the female body.