Dysmenorrhea among Japanese women.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the epidemiology of dysmenorrhea in Japanese women of menstrual age.


METHODS
A prospective cohort study was conducted using a health diary in a sample representative of Japanese women. Information on health care use was also collected.


RESULTS
Among 823 enrolled participants (age range, 18-51 years), dysmenorrhea (mean duration 1.75 days; range 1-5 days) was reported in 15.8% (95% CI, 13.3-18.3) during the 1-month study period. Common associated symptoms included headache (10.77%), back pain (6.92%), and fatigue (5.38%). No participant with dysmenorrhea visited a physician, while 51.5% of the women used self-medication, and 7.7% used complementary/alternative medicine.


CONCLUSIONS
Dysmenorrhea is common in Japanese women. In our study, about half used self-medication, while some preferred complementary/alternative medicine. Dysmenorrhea is significantly associated with younger age and employment status.
Ohde
S
S
Clinical Practice Evaluation and Research Center, St Luke's Life Science Institute, St Luke's International Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. saohde@luke.or.jp
Tokuda
Y
Y
Takahashi
O
O
Yanai
H
H
Hinohara
S
S
Fukui
T
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004412:Dysmenorrhea / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012651:Self Medication / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*