Relation between dysmenorrhea and body mass index in adolescents with rural versus urban variation

OBJECTIVES: To find out the relation between the frequency of dysmenorrhea and body mass index in adolescents and to assess the impact of socio-demographic factors, especially rural/urban variation in the frequency of dysmenorrhea. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of 200 urban and 200 rural school going adolescent girls at Udaipur and Bedla Districts, Rajasthan. RESULTS: Of the 400 girls, the prevalence of dysmenorrhea was found to be very high (81.5 % rural and 76 % urban). In the rural setup, of the total girls with mild dysmenorrhea, 71.84 % had BMI < 16.5, with 27.18 % underweight. All girls with moderate and severe dysmenorrhea had BMI < 16.5. In the urban setup, of all girls with mild dysmenorrhea, 38.05 % had BMI < 16.5 and 54.86 % were underweight. All girls with severe and 80 % with moderate dysmenorrhea had BMI < 16.5. All girls with no dysmenorrhea had normal BMI. There was significant rural versus urban variation. CONCLUSIONS: Relation between dysmenorrhea and BMI was found to be significant (p < 0.01) with increased prevalence in the low BMI group. Hence, improving the nutritional status of adolescent girls may reduce dysmenorrhea.