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Introduction: Menstrual disorders generally affect the daily activities of females, and menstrual pain is a common gynaecological complaint in westernized societies. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of, and the factors related to, menstrual pain in young, healthy women., Material and Methods: Data from 600 university students were obtained during the cross sectional survey. Stu-dents were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire. Information on the women's socioeconomic status, age at menarche, and menstrual cycle characteristics: i.e. the length and regularity of cycles, the duration of menstrual flow, and the occurrence of menstrual pain, headache and back pain during the cycles were asked about. Each person's height, weight and waist circumference were measured, and the following indices: BMI, WHR, and WHtR were calculated., Results: 29.8% of the surveyed students reported the occurrence of moderate pain during menstruation, and 21.7% reported the occurrence of severe menstrual pain. Significant differences were observed in the prevalence of menstrual pain with relation to age at menarche and the amount and distribution of adipose tissue. Menstrual pain was more prevalent among women who experienced menarche at a younger age. Among overweight and obese students, as well as among students with abdominal obesity, menstrual pain was more frequent than among those with correct weight and correct waist circumference. Moreover, psychological stress was associated with menstrual pain., Conclusion: The results of this study show that a sig-nificant percentage of young women complain of menstrual pain. Menstrual pain is associated with early age at menarch, obesity and abdominal obesity.

Dysmenorrhea is a common and frequently disabling condition among women of childbearing age. Based on results of large epidemiological studies, it is estimated that over a half of the population of young women suffers from dysmenorrhea. In spite of such a high frequency of this condition, its literature. Pain and lower abdominal cramps are among the most common causes for gynecological referral. Dysmenorrhea is sometimes associated with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, fever, headache, back pain, and dizziness. The exact cause of the disorder is not completely understood. However, there are many known factors that play significant roles in the pathogenesis of dysmenorrhea. The most important are: excessive uterine contractility, disturbances in uterine blood supply, synthesis of prostaglandins and anatomical abnormalities of the female reproductive tract. Primary dysmenorrhea refers to painful menstrual bleedings in the absence of any detectable underlying pathology. Secondary dysmenorrhea represents the clinical situation where menstrual pain can be related to an underlying disease, disorder, or structural abnormality either within or outside the uterus. Unexplained mechanisms and multiple factors involved in the pathogenesis of primary dysmenorrhea indicate a vivid need for further studies on this subject.

In the sample of 734 women, randomly chosen from the Warsaw population, we collected interviews dealing with menstrual cycle abnormalities. The frequency of amenorrhoea in this sample was 0.3% and that of oligomenorrhoea was 6.7%. Dysmenorrhoea (more or less pronounced) was apparent in 56.3% of women, and premenstrual syndrome (PMS) was claimed by 40.5% women. For the assessment of the potential risk factors causing the menstrual cycle abnormalities we used an univariate and multivariate unconditional logistic analysis. The highest values of the oligo/amenorrhoea relative risk (RR = 5.6) were found in the youngest (< or = 16.4 y) group and among women using oral contraceptives. Dysmenorrhoea was more frequent among women who had no children (RR = 1.7) and RR for PMS was higher in women, who were previously pregnant (RR = 1.5) and in women who used oral contraceptives.