Variation in menstrual characters: a study between married and unmarried women of West Bengal

Menstrual cycle is an endocrine function of the ovary, controlled by the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis. Variation in menstrual characters across different ages, socioeconomic status, place of residence, ethnic groups and so on suggests that the function of hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis is influenced by some internal and external factors. The objectives of the present study are to understand the variation in menstrual characters with respect to differential marital status of women and as well as to find out whether marital status can be a significant predictor of any menstrual character. Data have been collected on a total number of 200 participants (unmarried 100 and married 100) with the help of a well-tested questionnaire/schedule. Unmarried participants who are aged between 18 and 21 years and their closest blood related married kin members who are in the age group 25-35 years, have given birth to at least one child, presently not lactating or family way and are not using any hormonal contraceptives for the last one year period have been selected for the study. Bivariate analysis reveals that significant differences exist between married and unmarried women in menstrual characters like menstrual cycle length, nature of menstrual discharge and presence of premenstrual problems. Multivariate analysis also shows that marital status of a woman is one of the significant predictors of these menstrual characters (except nature of menstrual discharge). It may be concluded that probably a relationship exists between marital status of a woman and some of the menstrual characters.