Around half of Aussie girls in their late teens have experienced serious period pain

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-05-20 15:30

Australia; VIC

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A long-term Australian study of period pain and its effects on around 1,600 teen girls' regular activities found about a third of 14-year-olds have experienced serious menstrual pain - defined as 'very painful' or 'quite painful' - while around half of girls aged between 16 and 18 have experienced it. Experiencing this level of period pain was linked to missing more activities, including school, work, socialising, sport ,and exercise, the study authors say. Teen girls with painful periods were three to five times more likely than those without pain or with 'a little' pain to miss school or university. Spotting serious period pain early and treating it could improve adolescent girls' quality of life and reduce school and work absences, as well as allowing girls to be screened early for chronic conditions such as endometriosis, the authors conclude.

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Journal/
conference: Medical Journal of Australia

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Deakin University, Monash University, Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI), The University of Melbourne

Funder: The study was funded by the Endo Help Foundation (https:// endoh elp. com. au), a not-for- profit advocacy organisation.

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