Primary dysmenorrhea among female medical students at Haramaya university: a cross sectional study in Harar, Eastern Ethiopia

Abstract

Primary dysmenorrhea is the most common women's health issue, affecting 90% of adolescent girls and more than 50% of menstruating women. In general, and particularly in the study area, there is a paucity of documented information on the prevalence and associated factors of primary dysmenorrhea among female medical students. As a result, the purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence and risk factors for primary dysmenorrhea. Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted among 503 female medical students of college of Health and Medical sciences. The data were collected by using pre-tested structured self-administered questionnaire. The data were entered into Epi-data version 3.1 and then exported to STATA version 17 for analysis. All covariates with p-value < 0.25 in bivariable logistic regression analysis were considered for further multivariable logistic regression analysis. Levels of statistical significance were declared at p-value < 0.05. The prevalence of primary dysmenorrhea was 60% (95%CI 55.86%, 64.46%) which indicated more than half of female medical students were victims of primary dysmenorrhea. Having a family history of dysmenorrhea (AOR = 2.57, 95%CI 1.67,3.95), menstrual irregularity (AOR = 1.70, 95%CI 1.14,2.53), history of studying area stress (AOR = 2.39,95%CI 1.11,5.16) and consuming greater than 3 cups of coffee/day (AOR = 3.25, 95%CI 1.32,8.04) were significantly associated with primary dysmenorrhea as compared with their counterpart. This study revealed that the prevalence of primary dysmenorrhea was high among medical students. These results carry profound implications for the health and overall well-being of female medical students. Furthermore, several factors were significantly associated with the pain such as family history of dysmenorrhea, irregular menustral cycle, consuming > 3 cups of coffee per day and history of studying area stress. The identified associated factors offer invaluable insights for developing targeted interventions. This includes emphasizing the importance of recognizing and addressing familial predispositions, promoting healthy lifestyle choices that support regular menstrual cycles, implementing stress reduction programs tailored to the academic environment, and providing guidance on moderate caffeine intake. The alarmingly high prevalence necessitates a concerted effort by Haramay University to offer easily accessible and appropriate medical care and counseling services for dysmenorrhea.