THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND THE OCCURRENCE OF PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA AMONG UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS AT UDAYANA UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Primary dysmenorrhea is menstrual pain in the lower abdomen originating from the uterus without accompanying complications or organic abnormalities. Primary dysmenorrhea most commonly occurred in late adolescence, particularly among women aged 18–24 years, which corresponds to the typical age of university students. Primary dysmenorrhea was influenced by several factors, one of which was nutritional status. Aiming to evaluate the link between nutritional status and primary dysmenorrhea, this research focused on female students within the Undergraduate Medical Program at Udayana University. Focusing on female medical students at Udayana University, this cross-sectional study analyzed the link between nutritional status and primary dysmenorrhea. Data were gathered through non-probability accidental sampling to determine the association between the independent variable (nutritional status) and the dependent variable (primary dysmenorrhea severity). The study involved 111 respondents, with a prevalence of primary dysmenorrhea of 92,8% and proportion of severe primary dysmenorrhea of 25%. Severe primary dysmenorrhea was more frequently experienced by respondents with overweight nutritional status compared to those with underweight and normal nutritional status (p=0,058). In addition, severe primary dysmenorrhea was more common among respondents with high stress levels (p=0,456). Therefore, it was concluded that there was no significant relationship between nutritional status or stress level and the severity of primary dysmenorrhea among undergraduate medical students at Udayana University.