Epidemiology of dysmenorrhea in adolescents in France

Dysmenorrhea is paroxysmal pain occurring before or during menstruation. We have developed a clinical score for quantifying dysmenorrhea based on the intensity of each symptom. This score was used to study a population of 420 3 high-school students aged 14 to 18 years in the Herault district of Franc e. The prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 21%, 57% of the study subjects experi enced dysmenorrhea on a regular basis, and 26% had both dysmenorrhea and pr emenstrual syndrome. One-third of the subjects with dysmenorrhea reported a bsenteeism from school because of their pain. A family history of dysmenorr hea was found in 39% of the study subjects and a variety of psychological p roblems in 24%. Dysmenorrhea was most common during the first Few years fol lowing the menarche (84% of cases during the first two years). One-half of cases with dysmenorrhea were untreated. Given the remarkable efficacy of pr opionate nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs in dysmenorrhea, this finding indicates a need for efforts to heighten the awareness of dysmenorrhea amon g pediatricians and general practitioners.