Menorrhagia is a common and major problem for patients with inherited bleed
ing disorders, especially vWD. Quality of life during menstruation was asse
ssed in 99 patients with inherited bleeding disorders including vWD (n = 57
), carriers of haemophilia A (n = 17), carriers of haemophilia B (n = 7) an
d FXI deficiency (n = 18), and comparison was performed with an age-matched
control group (n = 69). A questionnaire was used that included four main s
ections: (i) general health, (ii) health and daily activities, (iii) dysmen
orrhea and (iv) quality of life during the menstrual period. Although patie
nts with inherited bleeding disorders felt that their health (in general) w
as very good, they had significantly poorer quality of life on all the scal
es used than controls. Thirty-nine per cent reported having cut down on the
amount of time spent on work and other activities as a result of their men
struation; 47% felt that they accomplished less than they would like during
this period, 38% felt that they were limited in the kind of work and other
activities that they could do, and 40% found that it took extra effort to
perform their work. Fifty-one per cent experienced moderate, severe or very
severe dysmenorrhoea. Quality of life was statistically poorer in patients
with vWD, menstrual scores >100 according to the pictorial blood assessmen
t chart (PBAC), those who had periods greater than or equal to 8 days and t
hose who experienced flooding or passage of clots. In conclusion, menstruat
ion has a negative effect on the quality of life in patients with inherited
bleeding disorders especially in these with objectively confirmed menorrha
gia.