Intensidade e interferência da dor autorrelatada em mulheres com síndromes e distúrbios pré-menstruais: estudo transversal

Abstract

Introduction: Menstruation is a biological and cyclical event in the female reproductive system. For some women, it may be perceived as a negative, shameful, debilitating, destructive, and painful event. While the majority experience only mild discomfort, and the symptoms do not interfere with their personal, social, or professional lives, 5% to 8% of women exhibit moderate to severe symptoms causing significant distress and functional impairment. Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) encompasses moderate symptoms, and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) includes severe symptoms. Objective: The primary purpose of this study is to compare the intensity and interference of self-reported pain in women with and without premenstrual syndromes and disorders. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional cohort study, part of a case series, was conducted at the Department of Physiotherapy, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (DFST/UFRN), Natal, Brazil. The study was submitted to and approved by the UFRN Research Ethics Committee under the Certificate of Presentation for Ethical Appreciation (CAAE): 5.508.364. Volunteers were categorized into three groups based on scores obtained from the Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST): Control Group; PMS Group; and PMDD Group. Evaluations were conducted from October to November 2022. All participants completed the following questionnaires: 1) General questionnaire covering sociodemographic, clinical, and gynecological data; 2) Brief Pain Inventory (BPI); and 3) PSST. Data were presented as mean and standard deviation for parametric data and as median and percentiles for non-parametric data. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to assess data distribution and normality. The Kruskall-Wallis test was employed for both sample characterization and to compare the severity and interference of pain among groups with and without PMS or PMDD. All analyses adopted a 95% confidence interval and a significance level of 0.05. Results: The sample comprised 39 women divided into three groups: CG (n = 14), PMS Group (n = 15), and PMDD Group (n = 10). All participants were in the reproductive age range, with mean ages of 25.5 ± 7.73, 23.4 ± 4.83, and 21.0 ± 2.46, respectively, for the Control Group, PMS Group, and PMDD Group. The groups were homogeneous in sociodemographic, clinical, and gynecological data, except for age and education. The majority of the sample had regular menstrual cycles and no chronic diseases. There was no significant difference in pain intensity (p = 0.473), with medians and 25th-75th percentiles of 3.00 (2.00 – 7.00) for the control group, 6.00 (3.00 – 11.00) for the PMS group, and 5.50 (0.00 – 17.00) for the PMDD group. Pain interference also showed no significant difference (p = 0.611) with medians and 25th-75th percentiles of 1.50 (0.00 – 6.00) in the control group, 4.00 (0.00 – 11.00) in the PMS group, and 5.00 (0.00 – 21.00) in the PMDD group. Conclusion: It was observed that there was no association between premenstrual disorder classifications and pain among the groups, with p-values greater than 0.05. It is concluded that women with PMS and PMDD have the same level of intensity and interference of self-reported pain when compared to women without premenstrual symptom disorders.