Association of premenstrual syndrome with body mass index, and its effect on the quality of life: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Retrospective community surveys estimate that nearly 90% of women have experienced premenstrual syndrome (PMS) at least once. Premenstrual syndrome is more prevalent among younger women. It also affects the quality of life (QOL) negatively to such a degree that work and lifestyle may get affected. Objective: To find the association between PMS and body mass index (BMI) and its impact on the QOL. Materials and methods: A total of 207 females in the 18–25 years age group were screened using Moos menstrual distress questionnaire (MMDQ) for PMS, of which 57 volunteers were diagnosed with PMS. Baseline characteristics were recorded, BMI was calculated, and the QOL of all subjects was measured with the SF-36 questionnaire. Outcome measures: Body mass index, MMDQ, and SF-36 questionnaire were the outcome measures. Results: The results showed a significant association between PMS and physical component summary (PCS; r value = −0.4228, p value = 0.0011) also between PMS and mental component summary (MCS; r value = −0.4326, p value = 0.0008). However, the correlation between PMS and BMI was found to be insignificant. Conclusion: Premenstrual syndrome affects the QOL negatively; however, no association with BMI was observed.