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

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Abstract

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 %).

Conclusion: 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.

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Abbreviations

CI:

Confidence interval

mm:

Millimeter

MDOT:

Menstrual disorder of teenagers

RR:

Relative risk

WHO:

World Health Organization

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Acknowledgments

The JOnG! cohort study was conducted in the framework of the Policy Research Centre of Welfare, Public Health and Family, and funded by the Flemish Government. This investigation was conducted with the support of the Clinical Research Foundation of the University Hospitals Leuven, the Research Foundation Flanders, and the Special Research Fund of the University Leuven.

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

  1. Centre of Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 35, block d, 7001, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Karel Hoppenbrouwers & Mathieu Roelants

  2. University Fertility Centre, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Christel Meuleman, Anna Rijkers & Thomas D’Hooghe

  3. Parenting and Special Education Research Group, University Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Karla Van Leeuwen

  4. Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, University Ghent, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Annemie Desoete

Authors
  1. Karel Hoppenbrouwers
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  2. Mathieu Roelants
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  3. Christel Meuleman
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  4. Anna Rijkers
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  5. Karla Van Leeuwen
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  6. Annemie Desoete
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  7. Thomas D’Hooghe
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karel Hoppenbrouwers.

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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

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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

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-015-2681-7

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