Prevalence of menstrual disorders and their association with sleep characteristics and mental health in Pakistani women

OBJECTIVES: Menstrual disorders adversely affect women's physical and psychological health. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of menstrual disorders and their association with sleep characteristics and mental health among young women in Pakistan. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2024 to June 2025 among women aged 18-40 years. Data were collected using standardized tools, including the Pictorial Blood Assessment Chart, the Verbal Multidimensional Scoring System, the Sleep Timing Questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale-10, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7. RESULTS: Initially, a total of 412 women were contacted, while 323 answered the questionnaire, and data from 217 complete questionnaires were analyzed. The prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 77.2%, while cycle-length disorders and bleeding disorders affected 19.0% and 20.4% of participants, respectively. Women with menstrual disorders showed significantly shorter sleep duration (449.4 ± 16.2 vs 505.2 ± 20.8 min; P = 0.040), greater sleep interruption (P = 0.001), and lower sleep efficiency (87.5% vs 93.2%; P = 0.003). The mean stress and depression scores were higher in women with menstrual disorders, with stress increasing by approximately 4.7 points and depression by 5.1 points. Each one-point rise in stress score increased the odds of menstrual disorders by 7.1%, and stress remained a significant independent predictor in the multivariate model. CONCLUSION: Menstrual disorders are highly prevalent among young Pakistani women and are strongly linked to elevated stress levels, poor sleep quality, and reduced sleep efficiency. Interventions addressing stress management, sleep hygiene, and menstrual awareness could improve both reproductive and mental health outcomes in this population.