Community Medicine Abstracts - College of Medicine and Health ...

Project No. 81 (1996)Menstrual Symptoms Among UAE University Students and Their Effects onAcademic Activities (2-27 Nov 1996)Student Authors: Salwa Abdulla Al-Suwaidi.Faculty Supervisors: Dr. M.M. HossainAbstract:Objectives To document the most common menstrual symptoms among UAEUniversity female students, to investigate the effect of menstruation on students’academic activities, and to find out the difference between medical students and otherfaculty students in terms of menstrual symptoms and the effect on their academicactivities.Methods The study was conducted in Al Ain City, UAE. Target population of study wasthe UAE University female students. Study period was 2 to 27 November 1996. Studywas designed to be a cross-sectional study with both descriptive and analyticalcomponents. Selected subjects were asked to fill in a self-administered questionnaire.253 students were subjected to the study, 111 of whom were medical students andthe rest (142) from other faculties.Results 94.1% of the subjects studied were UAE nationals. 43.9% were medicalstudents and 56.1% were other faculty students. Of the subjects only 8.7% weremarried. The mean age of the subjects was 20.7, the mean weight was 56.6kg, themean height was 159.1 cm and the mean body mass index was 22.3. 67.9% of thesubjects studied had regular periods, while 32.4% had irregular periods. 85.4% hadmoderate quantity of blood flow during mestruation, 11.1% had heavy flow and 3.6%scanty quantity. The mean of menarch age was 13 years, the mean of menstrualcycle length was 29 days, and the mean of cycle duration was 6.2 days.Conclusion The most common menstrual symptoms were not different from what wasexpected. menstrual symptoms seem not to significantly impair, or handicap students’academic activities. Some of the differences that were found between medicalstudents and other faculty students, in terms of menstrual symptoms and their effectson academic activities, could all be explained by the effect of the stressful lives ofmedical students. Due to lack of similar studies in the UAE, more studies need to becarried out regarding this topic.