Barnard Karen, Frayne Susan M, Skinner Katherine M, Sullivan Lisa M
VA Medical Center, 200 Springs Road, Bedford, MA 01730, USA.
J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2003 Nov;12(9):911-9. doi: 10.1089/154099903770948140.
Chronic diseases have been associated with decrements in health status, as measured by the Medical Outcomes Study's Short Form-36 (SF-36). Menstrual symptoms (including irregular menses, menorrhagia, dysmenorrhea and premenstrual symptoms) are common, but little is known about their impact on health status. We sought to determine the prevalence of menstrual symptoms and the degree to which these symptoms affect health status.
This was a mailed survey including questions about sociodemographic characteristics, military experiences, current physical symptoms and medical conditions, mental health, health status (SF-36), and life experiences. The participants were a nationally representative, randomly selected sample of women veterans who had made at least one ambulatory visit to a Veterans Affairs facility between July 1, 1994 and June 30, 1995. The main outcome measures were eight domains of the SF-36 health status questionnaire.
Among 3632 respondents (58.4% response rate), 1744 were menstruating women and formed the analytical sample for this study. Among these women (mean age 35.8), 67% reported one or more menstrual symptoms. Women with menstrual symptoms had significantly lower scores for all domains of the SF-36 (p < 0.01), except energy and vitality (p < 0.05), both before and after adjusting for sociodemographic, psychosocial, and comorbidity variables.
Women veterans who report one or more menstrual symptoms have significantly lower health status compared with those reporting none. Clinicians providing care for women should be attuned to the potential impact of menstrual symptoms on the lives of their patients.
慢性病与健康状况下降有关，这是通过医学结果研究的简短健康调查问卷（SF - 36）来衡量的。月经症状（包括月经不规律、月经过多、痛经和经前症状）很常见，但关于它们对健康状况的影响却知之甚少。我们试图确定月经症状的患病率以及这些症状影响健康状况的程度。
这是一项邮寄调查，包括有关社会人口学特征、军事经历、当前身体症状和医疗状况、心理健康、健康状况（SF - 36）以及生活经历的问题。参与者是在1994年7月1日至1995年6月30日期间至少有一次门诊就诊于退伍军人事务机构的具有全国代表性的随机抽取的女性退伍军人样本。主要结局指标是SF - 36健康状况问卷的八个领域。
在3632名受访者中（回复率为58.4%），1744名是处于月经期的女性，构成了本研究的分析样本。在这些女性（平均年龄35.8岁）中，67%报告有一个或多个月经症状。在调整了社会人口学、心理社会和合并症变量前后，有月经症状的女性在SF - 36的所有领域得分均显著较低（p < 0.01），能量与活力领域除外（p < 0.05）。
报告有一个或多个月经症状的女性退伍军人的健康状况明显低于无此类症状的女性。为女性提供护理的临床医生应注意月经症状对其患者生活的潜在影响。
