Relationship between dysmenorrhea and posttraumatic stress disorder in Japanese high school students 9 months after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the relationship between dysmenorrhea and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Japanese adolescent girls 9 months after the Great East Japan Earthquake.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
Two high schools in Sendai, the largest city in northeastern Japan.


METHODS
1489 female adolescents aged between 15 and 18 years.


METHODS
Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), intensity of menstrual pain.


RESULTS
The intensity of menstrual pain increased according to the comorbidity of PTSD (P < .001). The IES-R subscale and total scores significantly increased according to the severity of menstrual pain.


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed a significant association between natural disaster-induced PTSD and the severity of dysmenorrhea.
Division of Women's Health, Research Institute of Traditional Asian Medicine, Kinki University School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. Electronic address: take@med.kindai.ac.jp.
Takashi
T
Takeda
Mari
M
Tadakawa
Shoko
S
Koga
Satoru
S
Nagase
Nobuo
N
Yaegashi
D000293:Adolescent; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004190:Disasters; D004412:Dysmenorrhea / Q000523:psychology*; D055866:Earthquakes; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000150:complications*
Adolescents; Dysmenorrhea; Great East Japan Earthquake; PTSD