title: The quality of life of adolescents with menstrual problems.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To date, very few publications have examined the health related quality of life (HRQL) in the younger population with menstrual problems, despite their high prevalence in adolescent girls. We describe the health-related quality of life (HRQL) among adolescents with menstrual problems and identified factors that have an impact on it.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was a questionnaire study (using PedsQL 4.0) of adolescents aged 13-18 referred to a tertiary gynecology center for menstrual problems between June 2009 and August 2010.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred eighty-four adolescents completed the questionnaires. The mean age was 15.10 ± 1.49 with the mean body mass index (BMI) of 22.83 ± 4.82 kg/m(2). The most common menstrual problems seen in the clinic were dysmenorrhea (38.6%) followed by heavy bleeding (33.6%), oligomenorrhea (19.6%), and amenorrhea (8.2%). The mean overall score was 70.40 ± 16.36 with 42.3% having a score below 1 standard deviation (SD) from the norms. Adolescents with dysmenorrhea had the poorest score in physical function, whereas those with amenorrhea had the lowest score in psychosocial function. Maternal parenting style, parental anxiety, adolescents' ill-health behavior, and BMI have been found to have impact on the girls' quality of life (QoL).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although menstrual problems are not life threatening, they can pose a significant impact on the quality of life of these patients. Identification of these impacts might lead to the recognition of potential services or education to improve this. Understanding the characteristics that predict QoL may help a clinician identify patients who are risk for poor QoL.
authors: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. nurazurahag@gmail.com
authors: Abdul Ghani
authors: AG
authors: Nur Azurah
authors: Lena
authors: L
authors: Sanci
authors: Elya
authors: E
authors: Moore
authors: Sonia
authors: S
authors: Grover
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000568:Amenorrhea / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004412:Dysmenorrhea / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008595:Menorrhagia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D008599:Menstruation Disturbances / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D009839:Oligomenorrhea / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D016487:Parenting; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires