[Do depression, fatigue, and body esteem influence premenstrual symptoms in nursing students?]

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors affecting premenstrual symptoms among nursing students, focusing on depression, fatigue, and body esteem.

The participants were 145 nursing students at a university located in Changwon, Korea. Data were collected from November 2 to November 30, 2019 using self-reported structured questionnaires, and analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis.

The mean item score for premenstrual symptoms was 2.52±0.92, indicating a low level. The mean score for depression was 16.05±7.72, and 15.2% of participants were found to be moderately depressed and 9.7% severely depressed. The mean item score for fatigue was 4.84±0.84, indicating a moderate level, and body esteem was 2.94±0.44, indicating a moderate level. The premenstrual symptoms of nursing students showed a statistically significant correlation with depression (r=-.58, p<.001), fatigue (r=.33, p<.001), and body esteem (r=-.28, p<.001). Factors impacting premenstrual symptoms of nursing students were depression (β=.47, p<.001), dysmenorrhea (β=-.18, p=.009), menstrual cycle irregularity (β=.17, p=.013), and body esteem (β=-.14, p=.038). The total explanatory power of these variables was 41.0%.

Findings from this sample of nursing students suggest that intervention programs to relieve premenstrual symptoms should focus on depression, menstrual cycle regularity, dysmenorrhea, and body esteem.