What is the desired menstrual frequency of women without menstruation-related symptoms?

doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2006.01.004

Contraception

Volume 73, Issue 5, May 2006, Pages 537-541

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2006.01.004 Get rights and content

Abstract

Introduction

This study aimed to investigate the desired menstrual frequency of subjects without menstruation-related symptoms.

Materials and Methods

The study included 270 women of reproductive age. Women with menstrual headache, dysmenorrhea, hypermenorrhea and/or premenstrual syndrome were excluded. The study subjects completed a standardized questionnaire.

Results

Of the women, 75.6% declared that menstrual periods interfere with their sexual life, 28.8% preferred not having their menstrual period when at work and 48.4% reported that menstrual periods interfere with practicing sports. Given the choice, 28.5% of the women would desire amenorrhea and 27.8% would prefer a reduction in the frequency of menstrual periods. Of the 152 women desiring to reduce menstrual frequency, 73.0% declared that they would accept to use a drug to reduce menstrual frequency.

Conclusions

Over 50% of women without menstruation-related symptoms would like to lessen the frequency of menstrual periods and about 50% of them would desire amenorrhea.

Introduction

The menstrual period is a major part of every woman's life. Some women believe that amenorrhea is unhealthy and that monthly bleeding is necessary to “clean” the body. Some women use menstruation as a way to determine if they are pregnant, as a reason to avoid sex or as a means to ascertain fertility. Other women view monthly bleeding as, at best, an inconvenient nuisance.

For many women, monthly menstruation and menstruation-related disorders can cause considerable discomfort and social concerns. Menstrual periods may be associated with dysmenorrhea, migraine and a variety of somatic (breast tenderness, abdominal bloating, swelling) and affective (depression, irritability, anxiety, confusion) symptoms. These conditions not only cause pain, suffering and impaired quality of life but also may decrease social and economic productivity. Obviously, women who experience menstruation-related heath problems would, given the choice, eliminate or lessen the frequency of menstruation [1], [2], [3], [4].

In the past, clinicians have used temporary induced amenorrhea to assist military women [5], competitive athletes [6], [7], honeymooners, those with travel plans, mentally disabled women [8] and other women in suppressing or specifically timing menses [9], [10]. Women with such reasons to control their bleeding, as well as women with menstruation-related disorders, may benefit from this treatment approach.

To the best of our knowledge, no investigation has evaluated the menstrual preferences of women without menstruation-related symptoms.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the menstrual preferences of women without hormone withdrawal symptoms. Study subjects were recruited among women attending the Department of Gynecology of the San Martino Hospital (Genoa, Italy) because of routine gynecologic consultations between February 2003 and December 2004.

To be eligible for the study, women had to be of reproductive age, be at least 6 months postpartum or postabortion, not be trying to get pregnant and have regular menstrual

Characteristics of the study population

Three hundred thirty-two women fitting the inclusion criteria were approached for the study; none of these women had menstruation-related disorders. Two hundred seventy women consented to participate, yielding a response rate of 81.3%.

The demographic characteristics of the study population are listed in Table 2. Table 3 provides details on sport activities and work performed by the women included in the study.

Relationship between menstrual periods and social activities

Among the 242 sexually active women, 183 (75.6%) declared that their menstrual periods

Conclusions

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the desired menstrual frequency of women without menstruation-related symptoms. We observed that over 50% of these women would like to lessen the frequency of menstrual periods and that about 50% of them would desire amenorrhea. In this population, easing daily jobs, participating in sports and engaging in sexual activity are the reasons for wanting to reduce the number of menstrual periods.

The findings of the current study are

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Original research articleWhat is the desired menstrual frequency of women without menstruation-related symptoms?

Abstract

Introduction

Materials and Methods

Results

Conclusions

Introduction

Section snippets

Materials and methods

Characteristics of the study population

Relationship between menstrual periods and social activities

Conclusions

Obstet Gynecol

Contraception

Am J Obstet Gynecol

J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol

Clin Sports Med

Lancet

Contraception

Psychiatr Clin North Am

Soc Sci Med

Patient Educ Couns

Original research article
What is the desired menstrual frequency of women without menstruation-related symptoms?