Incidence and severity of premenstrual syndrome among Russian and foreign female medical college students according to the Russian version of the validated premenstrual syndrome symptom questionnaire

Yavorskaya S.D., Dmitrienko K.V., Lebedeva E.I., Nemtseva G.V.

Altai State Medical University, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Barnaul, Russia

Relevance: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is prevalent in women of reproductive age. However, data on PMS incidence and symptomatology among female students in medical colleges, as well as differences based on nationality and socioeconomic status, are insufficient in existing literature. Objective: This study aimed to determine the incidence, symptoms, and severity of PMS among Russian and foreign female students in a medical college, using the validated Russian version of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists PMS Symptom Questionnaire. Materials and methods: An anonymous questionnaire survey using the Google Form format was conducted among 186 female students, including 152 students from the Institute of Clinical Medicine (Group 1) and 34 students from the Faculty of International Students (Group 2). Results: The study found a high incidence of PMS in both groups (77.6 and 82.3%) with different ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and medical history. However, the frequency of seeking medical help for PMS symptoms was relatively low (39.5 and 29.4%). The most common symptoms reported by participants in this age group (21–25 years) and social status included low mood and depression (84.2 and 100%), decreased performance (65.1 and 94.1%), symptoms of anxiety and/or muscle tension (83.6% and 91.2%), and mastalgia and/or mastodynia (73.6 and 61.8%). A majority of respondents reported discomfort and a significant decrease in their quality of life in the week before menstruation (72.0 and 53.6%). Furthermore, moderate or severe PMS was found to be twice as common among female international students (15.3 and 32.2%). Conclusion: The study found that female medical students are at high risk for developing PMS (78.5%), with international female students demonstrating more severe symptoms. Considering the nature of PMS symptoms in both Russian and foreign female students, treatment containing Vitex agnus-castus extract may be a pathogenetically justified first-line treatment approach.

Authors' contributions: Yavorskaya S.D. – conceptualization, conducting research, drafting and editing of the manuscript, approval of the final version of the manuscript; Dmitrienko K.V. – conducting research, statistical analysis, drafting the literature review; Lebedeva E.I. – conducting research, statistical analysis; Nemtseva G.V. – conducting research, drafting and editing of the manuscript.

Conflicts of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Funding: There was no funding for this study.

Ethical Approval: The study was reviewed and approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Altai State Medical University, Ministry of Health of Russia.

Patient Consent for Publication: All patients provided informed consent for the publication of their data.

Authors' Data Sharing Statement: The data supporting the findings of this study are available upon request from the corresponding author after approval from the principal investigator.

For citation: Yavorskaya S.D., Dmitrienko K.V., Lebedeva E.I., Nemtseva G.V. Incidence and severity of premenstrual syndrome among Russian and foreign female medical college students according to the Russian version of the validated premenstrual syndrome symptom questionnaire. Akusherstvo i Ginekologiya/Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2023; (10): 141-150 (in Russian) https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/aig.2023.230

Keywords

female medical students
premenstrual syndrome
therapy
questionnaire for PMS symptom identification
Vitex agnus-castus

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Received 06.10.2023

Accepted 17.10.2023

About the Authors

Svetlana D. Yavorskaya, Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Altai State Medical University, Ministry of Health of Russia, +7(962)7927942, L2001@bk.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6362-5700, 656038, Russia, Barnaul, Lenina str., 40.
Ksenia V. Dmitrienko, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Altay State Medical University, Ministry of Health of Russia, +7(962)8101752, tishovakseni@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0886-4471, 656038, Russia, Barnaul, Lenina str., 40.
Ekaterina I. Lebedeva, PhD, Assistant, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Altay State Medical University, Ministry of Health of Russia, mory-ekaterina@yandex.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2988-5837, 656038, Russia, Barnaul, Lenina str., 40.
Galina V. Nemtseva, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Altay State Medical University, Ministry of Health of Russia,
Galya.nemceva@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8509-6600, 656038, Russia, Barnaul, Lenina str., 40.

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