Prevalence and impact of dysmenorrhea among students in West-Bafoussam Cameroon

Abstract

  Context: Dysmenorrhea remains a public health concern due to its psychosocial and academic impact.  Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and impact of dysmenorrhea among students in the city of Bafoussam.  Methodology: We carried out an analytical cross-sectional study from November 13, 2023, to February 16, 2024, targeting women of childbearing age in 08 secondary schools and 02 private higher education institutions in the city of Bafoussam. The sampling was stratified in a two-level cluster. We used the odds ratio to investigate the associations between the variables, and the significance threshold was set at 5%. Results: We recruited 880 participants with a median age (±interquartile range) of 17±3 years, ranging from 15 to 
32 years. The prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 57.2%. Among our dysmenorrheic participants, 22.5% reported absenteeism and 59.2% reported being limited socially and academically. We found a statistically significant association between pain intensity and socio-academic impact [0Ra (95% CI): 4.8(1.7-13.8), Pa: 0.030] Conclusion: More than half of the students in this study suffer from dysmenorrhea with a non-negligible detrimental impact on socio-academic aspects. It is imperative to take this into account in school programs to avoid the negative impact on academic and educational outcomes. Keywords: Reproductive age, Dysmenorrhea, Impact, menstruation