Menstrual challenges and quality of life among medicals students - a cross sectional study

<h2>ABSTRACT</h2><h3>Background</h3> Menstrual cycle abnormalities and irregularities have a substantial impact on women's quality of life. Because of their intense academic environments, female medical undergraduates are particularly sensitive to stress-induced menstrual problems. This study explores the effect of irregular menstrual cycle on quality of life among female medical undergraduates due to their stressful academic environment. <h3>Methods</h3> A cross-sectional study was done at King George's Medical University, Lucknow, India from March 2023 to March 2024. Aged 18-25 years among 625 female undergraduate students were participated. To collect data WHOQOL-BREF and PSST-A tools were used for quality of life and severity of menstrual syndrome respectively along with menstrual assessment abnormalities. SPSS version 22.0 was used for statistical analysis, P value <0.05 was considered significant. <h3>Results</h3> The mean age of participants was 21.22±1.30 years. The majority of participants (83.2%) belonged to the upper middle class and from urban area (97.7%). Menarche occurred at an average age of 12.45 years. 72.5% reported having regular menstrual cycle, whereas 17% reported having infrequent cycle. Dysmenorrhea was reported by 91.4% of participants with moderate pain being the most common. Premenstrual syndrome was prevalent in 90.9% of subjects, with 41.3% of them had moderate to severe symptoms. Irregular menstrual cycle had an effect on the social, psychological and physical aspect of quality of life. <h3>Conclusion</h3> The High prevalence of dysmenorrhea, premenstrual syndrome and menstrual irregularities indicated that there is a need for interdisciplinary action to understand the persistent impact on medical students and make their lives easier.