Symptoms related to menstruation in adolescent Swiss girls: a longitudinal study

Symptoms related to menstruation are reported in 140 Swiss girls according to postmenarcheal and chronological age. Premenstrual abdominal pains were present in 9-28% of the girls, depending on postmenarcheal age (i.e. years after menarche) (2-30% depending on chronological age). Dysmenorrhoea occurred in 44-64% of the girls according to postmenarcheal age (51-67% according to chronological age). Occasional severe dysmenorrhoea was the type most often reported, by 20-35% of the girls. Large intra-individual and inter-individual variabilities in the occurrence and severity of dysmenorrhoea were observed. The frequency of dysmenorrhoea increased in the first three postmenarcheal years and decreased thereafter. The prevalence of premenstrual headache was low, 0-5%. The frequency of headache during menstruation was 2-11% according to postmenarcheal age (2-19% by chronological age) which was low in comparison with other studies. Severe menstrual headache was more often reported than mild headache. Frequency of severe headache decreased in higher age groups. Other reported symptoms related to menstruation were general discomfort in 1-10% of the girls and premenstrual vaginal discharge in 10-22% according to postmenarcheal age (3-17% according to chronological age). Severe vaginal discharge was more frequent than mild discharge, 8-20% versus 0-3%. The frequency of vaginal discharge increased from the first to the fourth year after menarche.