Synopsis

Menstrual symptoms, including premenstrual tension (PMT), heavy bleeding, severe period pain and irregular periods, are a major cause of morbidity for women of reproductive age. They can significantly impact on women’s health-related quality of life, interfering with employment, inter-person relationships and family and social life. We propose to conduct a longitudinal analysis, using ALSWH data, to determine the prevalence of menstrual symptoms, to identify predictors/risk factors for women who develop menstrual symptoms and to study patterns of change of menstrual symptoms throughout women’s reproductive life. In addition, we aim to determine the degree to which these symptoms affect women’s health status (health-related quality of life – SF-36), healthcare utilisation, and work impairment.