Buddhabunyakan N, et al. – The prevalence of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) in Thai high school students are evaluated in this study. The outcome suggests PMS is a common menstrual disorder among Thai high school students. The most common symptoms reported in this study were angry outbursts and breast tenderness.

Methods

• For this research, they designed a prospective study.
• This study was conducted among menstruating high school students in Khon Kaen, Thailand, from September to December 2015.
• Participants were asked to prospectively complete an anonymous questionnaire, which included information about demographic information, menstrual patterns, and symptoms to be recorded on a daily calendar of premenstrual experiences according to the diagnostic criteria proposed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
• All of the data were prospectively recorded for 90 consecutive days.

Results

• Out of 399 participants, 289 (72.4%) finished the self–report questionnaire.
• 86 participants (29.8%; 95% CI, 24.5%–35.4%) reported having PMS.
• The most common somatic and affective symptoms among participants with PMS were breast tenderness (74.4%) and angry outbursts (97.7%).
• There were significant differences between the PMS and non–PMS groups, and PMS was related to various problems identified with educational activities, including lack of concentration and motivation, poor individual work performance, poor collaborative work performance, and low scores.
• However, there were no significant differences with respect to interpersonal relationships between the PMS and non–PMS groups.