Publication: Prevalence and pain intensity of dysmenorrhea and their association with dietary quality among female undergraduate students at Universiti Sains Malaysia
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Date
2026-06
Authors
Aziz, Hanifah Abd
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Abstract
Dysmenorrhea is a common gynecological condition among female university students and may adversely affect academic performance, daily activities, and quality of life. This study aimed to investigate the association between dietary quality, prevalence of dysmenorrhea, and pain intensity of dysmenorrhea among female undergraduate students at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). A cross-sectional study was conducted among 132 female undergraduate students selected using convenience sampling. Data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic information, a 3-day 24-hour dietary recall, and a dysmenorrhea questionnaire. Dietary quality was assessed using the Standardized Malaysian Healthy Eating Index (S-MHEI). Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 31.0. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data, while Fisher’s Exact tests were used to determine associations between variables. The mean dietary quality score was 46.55 (SD = 8.57), with the majority of respondents (78.0%) classified as having poor dietary quality. The prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 86.4%. Most respondents experienced moderate pain intensity (55.3%), followed by mild (34.2%), severe pain intensity (8.8%) and 2 of the respondent (1.8%) reported no pain intensity. A significant association was found between dysmenorrhea prevalence and pain intensity (p < 0.001). However, no significant association was observed between dietary quality and dysmenorrhea prevalence (p = 0.323) or pain intensity of dysmenorrhea (p = 0.083). In conclusion, dysmenorrhea was highly prevalent among female undergraduate students and was commonly associated with moderate pain intensity. Although dietary quality was generally poor among respondents, no significant association was found between dietary quality and dysmenorrhea outcomes. Future studies involving larger and more diverse populations are recommended to further investigate the relationship between dietary factors and dysmenorrhea
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