EJMS

Abstract

Backgrounds: Menorrhagia is one of the most frequently encountered symptoms in gynecology. Few studies, however, have stressed on its effect on women’s health and quality of life (QOL). Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify socio-demographic features and clinical characteristics of patients with menorrhagia and to define effects of menorrhagia on women’s QOL. Patients and Methods: The study was designed as a hospital based, cross sectional study with a case-control approach. The study recruited all cases (314 female) with menorrhagia attending the Obstetrics & Gynecology Clinics at Al-Azhar University Hospitals in Cairo, during period of the study. For each patient a control woman was chosen randomly. Data were collected using a specifically designed interview questionnaire concerning with socio-demographic and clinical data and the SF-36 questionnaire concerning with QOL data. Results: Two third (66.9%), 42.0%, and 31.2% of the cases had low education, ecupation, and income levels; with statistically insignificant differences compared with controls. Also, 46.2% of the patients were in age group 30-39 (P=0.02), 17.8% had past history of menorrhagia (P=0.001), 31.2% had +ve family history (P=0.000), and 42.0% had severe exertion (P=0.001). Further, 55.4% of the patients had Hb level <10 g/dL (P=0.000), 5.7% had liver disease (P=0.01), 17.8% had uterine leiomyomas (P=0.00), 10.2% had uterine polyps (P=0.03), and 14.7% used IUDs (P=0.04). Also, mean duration of menstrual bleeding before and after menorrhagia was 4.9±1.2 and 8.4±1.5 days, respectively (P=0.00) and mean number of daily used pads before and after menorrhagia was 4.7±1.3 and 9.6±2.8 pads, respectively (P=0.00). Regarding menorrhagia characteristics, 66.0% of the patients had menorrhagia for >1 year, 52.2% had moderate disease, and 48.4% of the patients used two pads or pad plus towel at a time. All M±SD of the eight domain scores of SF-36 QOL of the patients were less than that of the controls with statistically significant differences (P=0.00 for each domain). Also, all M±SD of the domain scores of SF-36 QOL of the mild and moderate menorrhagia cases were more than that of severe menorrhagia cases with statistically insignificant differences except the role physical (P=0.02). Lastly, all M±SD of the domain scores of the SF-36 QOL of the patients were higher after treatment than that before with statistically significant differences (P=0.000 for each domain except the role physical, P=0.001). Conclusions: Menorrhagia has negative effects on women’s health and QOL. So, these effects on women’s health and QOL of the women consulting their physician's for menorrhagia complaint should be properly investigated and effective approaches should be designed to face these effects. Lastly, more studies in different areas in Egypt are needed to investigate this health problem.