The burden and determinants of dysmenorrhoea: a population-based survey of 2262 women in

Objective To describe the prevalence and determinants of dysmenorrhoea, the most common menstrual complaint, in a community in India. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting Catchment area of primary health centre in Goa, India. Population Three thousand women aged 18–45 years randomly selected. A total of 2494 women consented to participate (83.1%). Methods Eligible participants were asked standardised questions regarding menstrual complaints over the past 12 months, and socio-demographic, psychosocial and reproductive risk factors. Vaginal or urine specimens were collected for the diagnosis of reproductive tract infections. Main outcome measures Dysmenorrhoea of moderate to severe intensity. Results A total of 2262 women were eligible. More than half reported dysmenorrhoea; moderate to severe dysmenorrhoea was reported by 755 participants (33.4%, 95 % CI 31.4–35.4). There was a linear association between severity of pain and impact (medication and taking rest) and the onset of pain (premenstrual onset associated with more severe pain). On multivariate analyses, the risk of moderate–severe dysmenorrhoea was associated with the experience of violence (OR 2.23, 95 % CI 1.5–34); other somatic complaints (OR 3.67, 95 % CI 2.7–4.9 for highest somatoform symptom score category compared with the lowest); gynaecological complaints (non-menstrual lower abdominal pain