Purpose: Chronic diseases have been associated with decrements in health status, as measured by the Medical Outcomes Study's Short Form-36 (SF-36). Menstrual symptoms (including irregular menses, menorrhagia, dysmenorrhea and premenstrual symptoms) are common, but little is known about their impact on health status. We sought to determine the prevalence of menstrual symptoms and the degree to which these symptoms affect health status.
Methods: This was a mailed survey including questions about sociodemographic characteristics, military experiences, current physical symptoms and medical conditions, mental health, health status (SF-36), and life experiences. The participants were a nationally representative, randomly selected sample of women veterans who had made at least one ambulatory visit to a Veterans Affairs facility between July 1, 1994 and June 30, 1995. The main outcome measures were eight domains of the SF-36 health status questionnaire.
Results: Among 3632 respondents (58.4% response rate), 1744 were menstruating women and formed the analytical sample for this study. Among these women (mean age 35.8), 67% reported one or more menstrual symptoms. Women with menstrual symptoms had significantly lower scores for all domains of the SF-36 (p < 0.01), except energy and vitality (p < 0.05), both before and after adjusting for sociodemographic, psychosocial, and comorbidity variables.
Conclusions: Women veterans who report one or more menstrual symptoms have significantly lower health status compared with those reporting none. Clinicians providing care for women should be attuned to the potential impact of menstrual symptoms on the lives of their patients.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/154099903770948140 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Branched-chain amino acids and specific phosphatidylinositols are plasma metabolite pairs associated with menstrual pain severity.
Sci Rep
January 2025
Center for Cancer Immunotherapy and Immunobiology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
Menstrual pain affects women's quality of life and productivity, yet objective molecular markers for its severity have not been established owing to the variability in blood levels and chemical properties of potential markers such as plasma steroid hormones, lipid mediators, and hydrophilic metabolites. To address this, we conducted a metabolomics study using five analytical methods to identify biomarkers that differentiate menstrual pain severity. This study included 20 women, divided into mild (N = 12) and severe (N = 8) pain groups based on their numerical pain rating scale.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRadiological evaluation of pelvic venous Disorders: A comprehensive review.
Eur J Radiol
January 2025
Department of Radiology, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo 315040 China. Electronic address:
Pelvic venous disorder (PVD) is a common gynecological disorder caused by chronic pelvic venous congestion. Clinically, it primarily manifests as lower abdominal pain, lower back pain, dyspareunia, increased menstrual flow, and increased vaginal discharge, though positive physical signs are few. The gynecological examination may reveal bilateral ovarian tenderness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWeighing up GnRH agonist therapy for endometriosis: outcomes and the treatment paradigm.
Expert Opin Pharmacother
January 2025
Obstetrics and Gynecology Department Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Introduction: Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory estrogen-dependent disease affecting 10% of women worldwide leading to chronic pelvic pain and infertility which may be treated clinically or surgically.
Areas Covered: Current literaure was reviewed using the keywords 'gonadotropin releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa),' 'endometriosis,' 'infertility' and 'chronic pelvic pain.' Relevant papers prioritizing randomized controlled clinical trials (RCT), systematic reviews, meta-analyses, as well as international guidelines were evaluated.
Effects of Short-Term Low Energy Availability on Metabolism and Performance-Related Parameters in Physically Active Adults.
Nutrients
January 2025
Department of Sports Medicine and Sports Nutrition, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany.
Background/objectives: Low energy availability (LEA) can cause impaired reproductive function, bone health issues, and suppressed immune function, and may result in decreased performance and overall health status. The purpose of this study was to investigate adaptions of body composition, blood status, resting metabolic rate, and endurance performance to gain more comprehensive insights into the symptoms of LEA and the adaptive effects in the athlete population (active women (n = 11) and men (n = 11)).
Methods: Three treatments were defined as 45 (EA45, control), 30 (EA30), and 10 (EA10) kcal/kg FFM/day and randomly assigned.
Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport-Multidisciplinary Treatment in Clinical Practice.
Nutrients
January 2025
Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Background/objectives: The primary aim of this study was to characterize athletes approaching an outpatient interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary consultation structure for athletes with a suspected relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs) cross-sectionally and longitudinally to prove treatment efficacy.
Methods: Data of 58 athletes suspected of REDs were collected at the onset (t) and completion (t) of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary REDs treatment (clinical practice) between January 2019 and December 2022. The data included extracted information from medical records, anthropometric characteristics, physical performance diagnostics, laboratory values, dietary records, and partially gynecological and psychosomatic diagnostics.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!