Study Objective

To explore the prevalence and impact of dysmenorrhea, pelvic pain and menstrual symptoms on young women at school or in tertiary education.

Design and Setting

Cross-sectional online survey in Australia.

Participants

A total of 4202 adolescent and young women (13-25 years of age; median age 17 years), having reached menarche, living in Australia and currently attending school (n = 2421) or tertiary education (n = 1781).

Interventions

Online survey hosted by Qualtrics between November 2017 to January 2018. Data were collected on sociodemographic data, menstrual cycle characteristics, dysmenorrhea, pelvic pain, and educational and social impact.

Main Outcome Measures

Information on menstrual and pelvic pain impact, academic absenteeism and presenteeism, impact on non-academic activities and interactions with teaching staff.

Results and Conclusions

Dysmenorrhea was reported by 92% of respondents. Dysmenorrhea was moderate (median 6.0 on a 0-10 numeric rating scale) and pain severity stayed relatively constant with age [r_s(3804) = 0.012, P = .477]. Noncyclical pelvic pain at least once a month was reported by 55%. Both absenteeism and presenteeism related to menstruation were common. Just under half of women reported missing at least one class/lecture in the previous three menstrual cycles. The majority of young women at school (77%) and in tertiary education (70%) reported problems with classroom concentration during menstruation. Higher menstrual pain scores were strongly correlated with increased absenteeism and reduced classroom performance at both school and in tertiary education. Despite the negative impact on academic performance the majority of young women at school (60%) or tertiary education (83%) would not speak to teaching staff about menstruation.

中文翻译：

---

澳大利亚骨盆和月经痛的患病率及其对教育的影响：一项针对4202名13-25岁的年轻女性的全国在线调查。

研究目的

探讨痛经，骨盆疼痛和月经症状在学校或高等教育中对年轻女性的普遍性和影响。

设计与设定

澳大利亚的横断面在线调查。

参加者

共有4202名青春期和年轻女性（13-25岁；中位年龄17岁），达到初潮，居住在澳大利亚，目前正在就学（n = 2421）或高等教育（n = 1781）。

干预措施

由Qualtrics在2017年11月至2018年1月之间进行的在线调查。收集的数据包括社会人口统计学数据，月经周期特征，痛经，骨盆疼痛以及教育和社会影响。

主要观察指标

有关月经和骨盆疼痛影响，学术旷工和临场感，对非学术活动的影响以及与教职员工互动的信息。

结果与结论

92％的受访者表示痛经。痛经是中度的（在0-10的数字评分量表上为中位数6.0），并且疼痛的严重程度随着年龄的增长而保持相对恒定[ r _s（3804）= 0.012，P = .477]。据报告，非周期性骨盆疼痛至少每月一次，占55％。与月经有关的旷工和出席者现象都很常见。在前三个月经周期中，不到一半的女性报告至少缺课/缺课。在学校（77％）和在高等教育中（70％）的大多数年轻女性在月经期间报告教室集中度有问题。在学校和高等教育中，较高的月经痛评分与旷工增加和课堂表现下降密切相关。尽管对学业表现有负面影响，但大多数在校的年轻女性（60％）或高等教育（83％）不会与教职工谈论月经。