Characteristics of the menstrual cycle in 13-year-old Flemish girls and the impact of menstrual symptoms on social life

This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of symptoms related to the menstrual cycle and their impact on social activities in young teenage girls. Between March and June 2009, all girls born in 1996 who were residents of eight regions in Flanders (Belgium) received a semi-structured questionnaire, including questions about the age of menarche, characteristics of the menstrual cycle, and its impact on social activities. Participants were 792 13-year-old girls (15.7 % of the target population). Out of 363 (47.2 % of participants) postmenarcheal girls, 41.6 % (95 % confidence interval (CI) 36.4–47.0 %) reported painful menstruations. The proportion of girls with painful menstrual periods decreased approximately 16 % with each year the age at menarche increased (relative risk (RR) = 0.84; 0.73–0.98; p < 0.05) and was positively correlated with the amount of blood loss (RR = 0.33; 0.16–0.67; p < 0.05 when little and 1.85; 1.49–2.31; p < 0.001 when abundant, compared to average). One in four (25.4 %) postmenarcheal girls indicated a negative impact of menstruation on social activities, but this proportion was significantly higher in girls who experienced menstruation as painful (41.3 %) compared to those who did not (14.2 %).

Early menstrual complaints are common in young adolescent girls and the likelihood of pain increased significantly with lower menarcheal age. What is Known? • Menstrual cycle-related symptoms may negatively interfere with school absence and social activities. • Early menarche and severe dysmenorrhea are correlated with endometriosis. | What is New? • In this large population-based study on the characteristics of the menstrual cycle in young teenage girls at or shortly after menarche, painful menstruation was highly prevalent (41.7 %), but related school absenteeism was low (3.2 %). The likelihood of pain increased significantly with lower menarcheal age. • The findings support the need for a systematic evaluation of the characteristics of the menstrual cycle shortly after menarche. | Similar content being viewed by others Abbreviations - CI: - Confidence interval - mm: - Millimeter - MDOT: - Menstrual disorder of teenagers - RR: - Relative risk - WHO: - World Health Organization

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Author’s contribution Karel Hoppenbrouwers (KH), Mathieu Roelants (MR), Christel Meuleman (CM), Anna Rijkers (AR), Karla Van Leeuwen (KVL), Annemie Desoete (AD), Thomas D’Hooghe (TD) KH, KVL, and AD were responsible for the study design and supervised the acquisition of data. AR and MR analyzed the data under supervision of KH, TD, and CM. Results were interpreted by all authors. AR and KH wrote the first draft, which was revised by all authors. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript. Author information Authors and Affiliations Corresponding author Ethics declarations Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Ethics approval and consent to participate Written informed consent was obtained from each participant and from a parent or legal guardian. The JOnG! study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committees of the University of Leuven and of the University of Ghent. Additional information Communicated by Patrick Van Reempts Rights and permissions About this article Cite this article Hoppenbrouwers, K., Roelants, M., Meuleman, C. et al. Characteristics of the menstrual cycle in 13-year-old Flemish girls and the impact of menstrual symptoms on social life. Eur J Pediatr 175, 623–630 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-015-2681-7 Received: Revised: Accepted: Published: Issue date: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-015-2681-7