Background: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a cyclic disorder characterized by behavioral, psychological, and physical symptoms that impacts women of reproductive age. The diagnosis requires one physical and one affective symptom. This study aimed to determine the prevalence, health-related quality, and management of PMS among female medical students.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among female medical students at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University between March and April 2022. All female medical students, aged over 17 years, who studied at the College of Medicine, and who were free of psychological or gynecological disease were included in this study. A pre-designed, anonymous, electronic self-administered questionnaire was used consisting of 36 questions using socio-demographic, medical conditions, American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology criteria to diagnose PMS, and the SF-12 questionnaire to assess the impact of health on an individual’s everyday life and management of menstrual symptoms.
Results: PMS was prevalent among 37% of medical students, the most frequent psychological symptoms were depression, crying spells, irritability, angry outbreaks, and anxiety. While the physiological symptoms were breast tenderness, food cravings, fatigue, bloating, and weight gain. PMS had an impact on the quality of life (QOL) as it decreased daily activities, study time, work productivity, concentration, participation, and exam performance. Over-the-counter drugs and complementary therapies were frequently used.
Conclusion: PMS significantly influenced daily activities related to the QOL and homework. Further studies to investigate the effect on the QOL among female students in Saudi Arabia are recommended. The modification of risk factors should be considered a critical intervention point.
Key words: Premenstrual syndrome, prevalence, medical student, Saudi Arabia.
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