PATTERN AND DETERMINANT FACTORS OF IRREGULAR MENSTRUATION IN WOMEN OF EASTERN AREA OF SAUDI ARABIA

Background: Irregular menstruation is a factor that increases the rate of emotional and psychological stresses. This study was conducted to determine the patterns of menstrual cycles and the prevalence of menstrual disorders; menstrual irregularity and prolonged menstrual bleeding among adolescent and adult females. Methods: This was a cross sectional community-based study, conducted in the Eastern area of Saudi Arabia on 639 females aged 10-52 years, during the period from 1 Abril to 31 June 2018. Data was analyzed using SPSS program, version 20.0. A 5% level was chosen as a level of significance in all statistical tests used. Results: The mean age of study participants was calculated to be 29.3±8.1 years, the mean length of the menstrual cycle was (18.73± 9.9 days), and the mean Length of period is (6.22 ± 1.63 days). Prevalence of menstrual cycle irregularities among the studied sample was (29.7%). Subjects complained of dysmenorrhea were 77.9%, of them 29.1% had irregular cycles with no statistical difference. No statistical difference between age of menarche and menstrual cycle regularity (P>0.05), higher education is associated with more cycle regularity (P0.05). Conclusion: in this study, the prevalence of menstrual cycle irregularities was 29.7%. Higher education is associated with more cycle regularity (P