Prevalence and effects of menstrual disorders on quality of life of female undergraduate students in Makerere University College of health sciences, a cross sectional survey

BACKGROUND: Menstrual problems affect as high as 90% of adolescent females and are the main reason for gynecology visits. Dysmenorrhea was the most frequent menstrual disorder for which adolescents and their parents were referred to a physician. Many undergraduate students are adolescents who undergo several hormonal changes that affect menstrual patterns. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of menstrual disorders and to determine the effect of menstrual disorders on quality of life (QOL) of female undergraduate students at Makerere University college of health sciences. METHODS: A cross sectional study design using a self-administered questionnaire. WHO (World Health Organization) QOL-BREF (QOL-Best Available Reference document) questionnaire was used to assess QOL of participants. Collected data was double entered into EPIDATA, and transferred to STATA for analysis. Data was presented using tables, and analyzed using percentages, frequencies, medians, interquartile range, means and standard deviations, t-test and ANOVA were used to establish statistical significance. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Of the participants, 275 were included in the data analysis. The median age of the participants was 21 years with range of 18–39 years and interquartile range of 20–24 years. All the participants had attained menarche. Of the participants, 97.8% (95%CI: 95.2–99.0) (269/275) reported some form of menstrual disorder. Premenstrual symptoms were the commonest disorder (93.8% (95%CI: 90.2–96.1), N = 258) followed by dysmenorrhea (63.6% (95% CI: 57.7–69.1), N = 175), irregular menstruation (20.7% (95%CI: 16.3–25.9), N = 57), frequent menstruation (7.3% 95% CI:4.7–11.0, N = 20) and infrequent menstruation (3.3% (95% CI:1.7–6.2), N = 9). Dysmenorrhea and premenstrual symptoms significantly reduced the QOL scores of participants. CONCLUSION: Menstrual disorders were highly prevalent with negative effects on QOL and class attendance. Efforts should be made to screen and possibly treat menstrual disorders among university students as well as to conduct further studies to elucidate more on the effects of menstrual disorders on quality of life. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12905-023-02290-7.