Does premenstrual syndrome (PMS) affect the lifestyle of adolescent/young college students?

OBJECTIVES

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) commonly affects adolescent and young women in educational settings, making it an important public health issue. Lifestyle is one of the essential subjects in health. This study assesses how PMS affects the lifestyle of young and adolescent students.

METHODS

This analytical cross-sectional study utilized a multi-stage cluster sampling method to recruit 450 students from various faculties at Babol University of Medical Sciences. The data collection instruments were self-administered questionnaires that captured variables related to demographics, fertility, anthropometry, premenstrual symptoms screening tool (PSST), and health-promoting lifestyle profile (HPLP). All instruments were completed by the student participants. For all statistical analyses, the threshold for significance was set at p<0.05.

RESULTS

The results of this study showed that a significant percentage (81.1 %) experienced severe symptoms of PMS. The total lifestyle score was significantly higher in the non-PMS group (131.01 vs. 124.03, p=0.002). A significant negative correlation was reported between lifestyle scores and PSST (r=-0.236, p<0.001). On multiple regression analysis, the income satisfaction (β=-9.644, p=0.007) and PSST (β=-4.142, p=0.070) acted as negative predictors of lifestyle. On the other hand, dissatisfaction with income adequacy and PSST indicated a lower level of lifestyle.

CONCLUSIONS

PMS had a tremendous impact on students' lifestyles. On the other hand, students who had PMS also had lower lifestyles. These results can help health policymakers to provide appropriate intervention strategies to reduce the severity of PMS and promote healthier lifestyles.