Relationship of menstrual disorders with nutritional status of college girls from Bankura District, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Menstrual disorders are the most common complaints of the women. This often leads to anxiety, depression and other such psychological problems. The present study was conducted to find out the association of nutritional status with menstrual pattern and menstrual disorders of college girls. This study was employed on ninety-seven female college students (18- 22 years) of Bankura district. A pre-tested, semistructured questionnaire was used to collect socioeconomic data and information regarding menstrual pattern and disorders. Anthropometric parameters including body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage (PBF), body adiposity index (BAI) was determined and mid-thigh circumference (MTC) was measured of each girls. From this study it was found that the Age at menarche (AAM) of college girls was 12.76±1.32 which was inversely related to the socioeconomic status and some anthropometric parameters like BMI, PBF, BAI, MTC etc. Monthly per capita income (MPCI) was an important determinant of weight (F=4.374; P=0.015), BMI (F=3.414; P=0.037), PBF (F=3.600; P=0.031) among the college girls. Pearson Product Moment Correlation showed that AAM, maternal education, number of sibling, number of family members, MPCI was associated with some anthropometric parameters viz. BMI, MTC, PBF, BAI. Linear Regression analysis showed that among the five factors (viz. AAM, maternal education, number of sibling, number of family members, MPCI) the maternal education and MPCI was the main determining factor for BMI. The prevalence of PMS, dysmenorrhoea and leucorrhoea was 67.01%, 73.20% and 85.57% in this study population. It can be concluded that AAM was inversely related to the anthropometric parameters (BMI, PBF, BAI, MTC) and more than two third of the college students was suffering from different menstrual disorders. U-shaped relationship between BMI and dysmenorrhea clearly focused the influence of body fat on dysmenorrhoea.