Prevalência da síndrome pré-menstrual e fatores associados entre acadêmicas da área da saúde de uma universidade do centro-oeste brasileiro.

Abstract

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is one of the most common disorders experienced by women of reproductive age. It is characterized by the presence of both physical and psychological symptoms, which have a significant impact on a woman's daily life. Some sociodemographic, reproductive and behavioral characteristics have been associated with the occurrence of PMS. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of PMS and associated factors in health course academics. This is a cross-sectional study in which the referred data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire, which was applied to academics, aged 18 or over, from a university in the central west of Brazil. The project is part of a larger study entitled "Epidemiological profile of students in the health course at the University of Rio Verde, Goiás, 2018". The data reported by the participants included demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral, psychosocial and health-related variables. The fieldwork was carried out between October and November 2018. Through the application of a standardized questionnaire, data were collected on the occurrence of premenstrual symptoms and their impact on the social and academic life of university students, allowing to determine the prevalence of PMS and PMDD, according to the Premenstrual Syndrome Screening Tool (PSST). In total, 1115 university students were evaluated. The prevalence found for PMS was 46.9% (95% CI 44.0-49.8) and for PMDD 11.1% (95% CI 9.3-13.0). The main complaints reported were physical symptoms (sensitive breasts, headache, muscle or joint pain, swelling and weight gain) and psychological symptoms: desire to eat / overeat, becoming teary / more sensitive to rejection, anxiety / tension and anger / irritability. These symptoms interfered in a moderate or even severe way in the academic, family and social activities of the university students. After adjustment, the highest probability of PMS occurred for university students who were attending the first periods of the course, who had consumed alcoholic beverages in the last 30 days and who reported a medical diagnosis of depression. No association was found between smoking, eating habits, physical activity and PMS. Conclusion: the study showed that PMS is highly prevalent among university students and that there is an independent and significant relationship between behavioral and health factors with PMS. It is essential that premenstrual symptoms are addressed in medical consultations, and that their management includes prevention strategies that take into account the associated factors found.