RELATIONSHIP OF BODY MASS INDEX WITH MENSTRUAL CYCLE PATTERN AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS

Dr. Faria Anjuman Hossain*, Prof. Dr. Ferdousi Begum, Prof. Dr. Ferdousi Islam, Dr. Amitunnesa, Dr. Romena Afroz and Dr. Wallace Afrin

ABSTRACT

Background: Disturbance of menstrual cycle is one of the most common gynecologic disorders among adolescent girls and young adult women. The present study was conducted to observe the relationship of body mass index with menstrual cycle pattern among the female students of Dhaka Medical College. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was carried out among 100 randomly selected female students from September 2011 to December 2011 through self-administered structured questionnaire. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 23.51 (±SD 2.61) years. The mean BMI was 25.79 kg/m2. Majority of respondents’ BMI was within normal limit (61%); but rests (39%) were either overweight or obese. Minimum age at menarche was 9 years, while maximum age was 16 years with mean 12.27 ±1.16 years. Most the respondents’ menstrual pattern was regular (79%) and majority (66%) had average menstrual flow. About 68% respondents disclosed that they had dysmenorrhoea with various degree of severity. It is found that 86.9% of the respondents whose BMI was normal menstruate regularly. Conclusion: Relationship between menstrual pattern and BMI has been investigated in this study. It is found that overweight is significantly related with irregular menstruation. Female medical students are reluctant to exercise. They should be encouraged to adopt the positive habits of daily physical exercise.

Keywords: Body mass index, menstrual cycle, dysmenorrhea, medical students.