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- 1 Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC
- 2 Monash University, Melbourne, VIC
- 3 Deakin University, Geelong, VIC
- 4 University Hospital Geelong, Geelong, VIC
- 5 Endo Help Foundation, Point Lonsdale, VIC
Open access:
Open access publishing facilitated by Deakin University, as part of the Wiley – Deakin University agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.
The study was funded by the Endo Help Foundation (https://endohelp.com.au), a not‐for‐profit advocacy organisation. This article uses unit record data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), conducted by the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS) (doi: 10.26193/QR4L6Q). The findings and views reported in this article, however, are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Australian government, DSS, or any of contractors or partners of DSS.
No relevant disclosures.
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Abstract
Objectives: To determine the proportion of Australian adolescent girls who experience menstrual pain (dysmenorrhea); to assess associations of dysmenorrhea and period pain severity with adolescents missing regular activities because of their periods.
Study design: Prospective, population‐based cohort study; analysis of Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) survey data.
Setting, participants: Female adolescents in the nationally representative cross‐sequential sample of Australian children recruited in 2004 for the Kinder cohort (aged 4–5 years at enrolment). Survey data from waves 6 (mean age 14 years), wave 7 (16 years) and wave 8 (18 years) were analysed.
Main outcome measures: Severity of period pain during the preceding three months (very, quite, a little, or not at all painful); number of activity types missed because of periods; relationship between missing activities and period pain severity.
Results: Of the 1835 participating female members of the LSAC Kinder cohort at waves 6 to 8, 1600 (87%) responded to questions about menstruation during at least one of waves 6 to 8 of data collection. At wave 6 (14 years), 227 of 644 respondents (35%) reported dysmenorrhea, 675 of 1341 (50%) at wave 6 (16 years), and 518 of 1115 (46%) at wave 8 (18 years). Of the 366 participants who reported period pain severity at all three waves, 137 reported no dysmenorrhea at all three waves (37%), 66 reported dysmenorrhea at all three waves (18%), 89 reported increasing period pain over time (24%), and 38 reported declining pain (10%). At wave 6, 223 of 647 participants reported missing at least one activity because of their periods (34%), 454 of 1341 at wave 7 (34%), and 344 of 1111 at wave 8 (31%). Of the participants who experienced very painful periods, 72% (wave 6), 63% (wave 7), and 65% (wave 8) missed at least one activity type because of their periods, as did 45% (wave 6), 36% (wave 7), and 40% (wave 8) of those who experienced quite painful periods.
Conclusions: A large proportion of adolescent girls in Australia experience period pain that affects their engagement in regular activities, including school attendance. Recognising adolescent period pain is important not only for enhancing their immediate quality of life with appropriate support and interventions, but also as part of early screening for chronic health conditions such as endometriosis.