Dysmenorrhea is a possible risk factor for chronic pain development among women during their menstrual period, according to a recent study.
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| Photo: A Woman with Dysmenorrhea | InStyleHealth |
Researchers utilized data from the National Midlife in
the United States group, which involved 874 community-dwelling women aged 25 –
74 years at baseline when dysmenorrhea was evaluated. All of the women
participants were followed for 10 years for the development of chronic pain
monitoring.
Modified Poisson regression models controlled for
sociodemographic, lifestyle, and psychological factors, were applied by
researchers to evaluate the correlations. Results revealed that among women who
were having menstruation at baseline, self-reported dysmenorrhea suggested a 41%
increase of possibility of developing chronic pain.
Moreover, women with dysmenorrhea were more likely to
experience chronic pain in more body regions as well as greater pain interference.
For those women who had already undergone menopause at baseline, there was no
evidence of a correlation between their history of dysmenorrhea and ensuing
risk of chronic pain development.
Results support the temporality of dysmenorrhea and
chronic pain development. Therefore, early management of dysmenorrhea may benefit
women and minimize the risk of and severity of chronic pain. However, further
research is necessary to verify whether dysmenorrhea is causal risk factor or a
risk marker of chronic pain in women.
For complete details of this study, click here.
Source: J Pain 2021;doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2021.03.139