Association between different types of school bullying and premenstrual disorders: A cross-sectional analysis of 10,042 girls.

BACKGROUND

School bullying is associated with premenstrual disorders (PMDs) in adulthood, but its relationship with PMDs in adolescent girls needs further investigation.

METHODS

We analyzed 10,042 menstruating girls for PMDs using the modified version of Calendar of Premenstrual Experiences and the Delaware Bullying Victimization Scale-Student for school bullying. Multivariable logistic regression revealed the associations between school bullying and PMDs, including premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and more severe form - premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Besides, we performed stratified analyses by adding interaction terms between bullying and depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) separately among girls with and without psychiatric comorbidities.

RESULTS

At a mean age of 15.0 years (standard deviation = 1.77), 2145 (21 %) girls met the criteria of possible PMDs. Bullied girls had a higher likelihood of PMDs (OR 3.15 [2.75-3.60]). The association was most pronounced for social bullying (OR 3.24 [2.72-3.84]), followed by verbal bullying (OR 3.18 [2.76-3.68]), cyberbullying (OR 3.00 [2.26-3.99]), and physical bullying (OR 2.45 [1.93-3.09]). A stronger association was observed for PMDD than for PMS, and among girls without than those with psychiatric comorbidities..

LIMITATIONS: This is a cross-sectional survey, and residual confounding such as BMI may exist though we addressed a number of confounders.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate school bullying, particularly verbal and social bullying, is positively associated with PMDs in adolescent girls. Efforts to prevent school bullying during adolescence and study its long-term effects on PMDs are needed to reduce the risk of PMDs.