Menstrual Discomfort and Dietary Habits in Adolescents

여중생의 월경 불편감과 식습관 관련 특성

Purpose: This study was done to identify menstrual discomfort and dietary habits, and factors related to the menstrual discomforts. Method: Participants were 320 female middle school students in G city. The Menstrual Discomfort Questionaire(MDQ) and dietary habit lists were used as tools. Results: Factors related to MDQ were found to be the VAS scores (r=.361, p=.002), a mount of menstrual bleeding (r=.131, p=.019), height (r=.134, p=.016), adequacy of meal time (t=7.19, p=.008), consumption of milk & milk products (F=3.20, p=.042) and, hot, salty & irritant foods (f=8.01, p=.000), eating more than 3 kinds of side-dishes with each meal (F=8.32, p=.000), and various protein foods (F=5.15, p=.006). In stepwise regression, 4 variables (VAS scores, height, hot, salty & irritant foods, more than 3 kinds of side-dishes with each meal) explained $20.3\%$ of the variance in the total MDQ scores. Conclusion: Reduction of hot, salty & irritant foods and having more than 3 side-dishes with each meal would be effective in menstrual discomfort management. As well, good and, balanced dietary habits should be encouraged for early adolescent girls. To keep up with the ideal dietary habits, nutritional education & counseling should be continued. In a further study, a replication study with larger samples and more specified nutritional assessment are recommended.