Pattern and features of menstruation among adolescent girls in Haldwani: a cross-sectional study

Background: Menstruation becomes an important aspect in life of an adolescent girl once she attains puberty and is often associated with variable characteristics. Being a development process and a reported significant source of morbidity too, it becomes important to study its pattern and characteristics. The purpose of this study was to determine the pattern of menstruation among adolescent girls.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 574 adolescent girls of 10-19 years age of 6th to 12th grades in four selected government and private schools of Haldwani. Data was collected using a predesigned semi-structured questionnaire with brief interview and examination. Analysis of data was done with help of SPSS version 21.Results: Mean age of the girls was 14.95±1.41 years. Mean age at menarche was 12.94±1.01 years. Majority of girls 441 (76.82%) had cycle length of 21-35 days and it was found that 95 (16.55%) girls had irregular menstrual periods. Rural and urban differences in regularity of menstruation were statistically significant. Duration of flow in majority 300 (52.26%) of girls was 2-4 days followed by 5-7 days in 222 (38.68%). Dysmenorrhoea was reported by 422 (73.52%) of adolescent girls and of them 259 (61.37%) have never used analgesics while 66 (15.63%) have always used analgesics. Girls with absence of pallor were 1.2 (0.8-1.9) times more likely to have regular menstruation as compared to those showing pallor.Conclusions: Irregular menstruation was common among girls and significant association was found with place of residence. Dysmenorrhoea was present in three-fourth of adolescent girls still majority of them have never used analgesics. Daily routine was affected in more than 80% of girls during menstruation.