Risk factors for dysmenorrhea among young adult female university students.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate associated risk factors for dysmenorrhea in a sample of Serbian university students.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted among undergraduate students (n = 288) attending lectures during 2014/2015 academic year at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac.

Results: The only significant associations were between dysmenorrhea and age at menarche (OR adjusted = 0.74; 95% CI 0.58-0.95; p = 0.017), family history of dysmenorrhea (OR adjusted = 3.39; 95% CI 1.74-6.63; p = 0.000), duration of menstrual flow (OR adjusted = 1.52; 95% CI 1.16-1.99; p = 0.002) and smoking at least one cigarette a day (OR adjusted = 5.09; 95% CI 1.83-14.15; p = 0.002). The factors associated with dysmenorrhea were not interacting with each other.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that earlier age at menarche, longer duration of menstrual flow, prior family history of dysmenorrhea and smoking at least one cigarette a day are important risk factors associated with dysmenorrhea. Smoking cessation should be strongly encouraged.