Dissatisfied relationship with parents linked with menstrual pain in female medical students

DISSATISFIED relationships with parents and having an increased average monthly allowance were associated with a higher risk of experiencing menstrual pain among female medical students at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan (UI), in a study.

In the study, researchers reported that female medical students unsatisfied with their relationship with their parents were 1.04 times more likely to experience painful menstruation than participants who felt satisfied with their parents.

The 2025 study titled “Prevalence of, and Risk Factors for Dysmenorrhea among Female Medical Students at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria” was published in the Tropical Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (TJOG).

The cross-sectional study had 171 female medical students who were regularly menstruating participating, with the majority, 163 (96.45 percent), of them reporting having lower abdomen pain during menstruation.

A structured questionnaire was administered to the female medical students (years 1-6) in the College of Medicine, UI, to collect the quantitative data. Those with abnormal bleeding, pelvic inflammatory diseases, lower abdominal pain, or pelvic pain due to other causes were excluded.

This study showed that dysmenorrhea is highly prevalent among medical students (61.88 percent), and nearly all participants gave a history of having experienced symptoms suggestive of pain during menstruation.

There was a significant difference in the average monthly allowance between participants with and without a history of dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation).  The average monthly allowance for participants without a history of dysmenorrhea was two times higher than those with a history of dysmenorrhea.

Menstrual discomfort was reported by two-thirds of 111 (67.68 percent) each month, followed by participants who reported it every three months. Those with a history of dysmenorrhea have a longer average menstrual cycle length than those without dysmenorrhea.

Over a third, 59 (36.42%) of participants rated their pain as severe, preventing them from performing their daily activities without taking medication. The majority, 102 (64.56 percent), reported feeling discomfort at the beginning of menstruation, while 10 (6.33 percent) reported a history of pain throughout the duration of menstruation.

Accommodation, religion, marital status, family structure, parent divorce, and use of sanitary products were other factors associated with the history of dysmenorrhea. Most female medical students with dysmenorrhea used paracetamol and hot water as treatment regimens.

The researchers declared that insights gained from studying dysmenorrhea among medical students can also inform strategies applicable to the wider female population, both within academic settings and beyond.

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