The Relationship between Pattern of Nutrition and Premenstrual Syndrome and Dysmenorrhea in Girl Students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences in 2018: A Descriptive Study

Premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea have a negative effect on the personal and social performance of patients. According to the background review, nutrition can play a key role in the prevalence and severity of premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea. Therefore, this study was performed to determine the relationship between nutritional pattern of female students and premenstrual syndrome and primary dysmenorrhea.

In this descriptive study, 314 female students of Rafsanjan medical sciences departments participated in 2018 as a quota. Data were collected using the Feed Frequency Questionnaire, Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool, and Dysmenorrhea Scale. After collecting, data were entered into SPSS version 18 software and then analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient.

The average daily intake of various foods per day was 3208.21±1664.16, premenstrual syndrome score 27.67±10.99 and dysmenorrhea score 5.47±2.37. Among the different food groups, there was only a weak, inverse and significant relationship between dairy consumption and premenstrual syndrome (p= 0.005, r= -0.164). There was also no significant relationship between dysmenorrhea score and dietary patterns.

With increasing dairy consumption by female students, premenstrual syndrome in these students decreases. Due to the weakness of this relationship in the present study, there is a need for further research in this field.