Abstract
The symptoms surrounding menstruation in young women have not been sufficiently clarified. To investigate the symptoms concerning menstruation in young women, we performed a quantitative analysis using modified MDQ (mMDQ) scores. Informed consent was obtained from 345 women, 15 to 20 years of age. The content of a questionnaire included background such as height, weight, lifestyle, menses history, and MDQ items regarding seven symptoms which are characteristic of PMS. The modified MDQ score was investigated before, during and after menses. Each item was given 0-3 points, and the total points of 54 items (M point) were applied for evaluation of symptoms surrounding menstruation. We used the Bonferron method for statistical analysis. There were no significant differences among ages. The means of the M point were 27.0 before menses, 36.2 during men-ses, and 9.7 after menses, respectively. The M point after menses showed no significant change with aging and was about 10 points, while the M point before menses increased with aging. We divided the subjects into three groups: 1) N (normal) group, M points before and after menses were under 10; 2) P group, M points showed over 10 points before menses and under 10 after menses; 3) Q group, M points before and after menses were over 10. The M point during menses of the P group (37.2) was significantly higher than that of the N group (14.3) . The percentage of the N group decreased with aging, while those of the P and Q groups increased. It was shown that the MDQ score with symptoms characteristic of PMS was useful for evaluating symptoms surrounding menstruation in young women, and the women with severe symptoms before menses increased in number with age and most likely experienced severe symptoms during menses.
