Dysmenorrhea among Japanese women

To investigate the epidemiology of dysmenorrhea in Japanese women of menstrual age.

A prospective cohort study was conducted using a health diary in a sample representative of Japanese women. Information on health care use was also collected.

Among 823 enrolled participants (age range, 18-51 years), dysmenorrhea (mean duration 1.75 days; range 1-5 days) was reported in 15.8% (95% CI, 13.3-18.3) during the 1-month study period. Common associated symptoms included headache (10.77%), back pain (6.92%), and fatigue (5.38%). No participant with dysmenorrhea visited a physician, while 51.5% of the women used self-medication, and 7.7% used complementary/alternative medicine.

Dysmenorrhea is common in Japanese women. In our study, about half used self-medication, while some preferred complementary/alternative medicine. Dysmenorrhea is significantly associated with younger age and employment status.