Level of perceived stress among undergraduate physiotherapy students with primary dysmenorrhea in Sialkot, Pakistan – A Cross Sectional Study

• Published in: Journal Riphah College of Rehabilitation Sciences
• Main Authors: Kainat Shahbaz, Esha Ali, Maham Shahbaz, Iqra Tul Hussain
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Faculty of Rehabilitation & Allied health sciences, Riphah International University 2025-09-01
• Subjects: menarche; primary dysmenorrhea; perceived stress
• Online Access: https://journals.riphah.edu.pk/index.php/jrcrs/article/view/2463
• ISSN: 2226-9215; 2410-888X

Abstract: Background: Menstrual pain often caused by prostaglandins, triggering uterine contractions is named as Primary Dysmenorrhea. Perceived stress is stated as an individual’s subjective assessment of the degree to which they feel overwhelmed or unable to cope with the demands of life. Objective: To determine the level of perceived stress among undergraduate physiotherapy female students with primary dysmenorrhea in Sialkot, Pakistan. Methodology:  This Cross-sectional study included 232 females with primary dysmenorrhea, selected using Simple non-random sampling technique. Inclusion criteria was age (18-25 years), women with normal menstrual cycle lasting between 21 to 35 days, low back pain that begins one day before the menstrual cycle and lasts for 6-12 hours after the start of menstrual cycle, and leads to 3 days of bleeding in last 3 menstrual cycles whereas polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), amenorrhea, use of oral contraceptives, use of intrauterine devices, pregnancy and secondary dysmenorrhea were excluded from the study. The outcome measuring tool was Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). The data was analyzed using SPSS software 22 and interpreted as frequencies and percentages. Results: Out of 232 participants the mean age was (21.34± S.D 1.49 years).  The majority of the participants were unmarried (N=206, 88.8%). Most of the participants (N=138, 59.5%) had normal Body Mass Index, (N=131, 56.5%) had healthy diet with maximum sleep duration of 12 hours. Most of the participants had 3-5 days of menstrual bleeding (N=188, 81.0%), moderate menstrual flow (N=182, 78.4%), 21-35 days of menstrual cycle length (N=169, 72.8%) and menarche at the age of 13 years (N=57, 24.6%). The Participant’s mean score of perceived stress scale was (22.10± S.D 5.92). Conclusion: The study concluded that students with primary dysmenorrhea had moderate level of perceived stress. Keywords: Menarche, Primary Dysmenorrhea, Perceived Stress