To study the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome and its impact on lifestyle dietary pattern and intake of adult women

Abstract

A study of prevalence of premenstrual syndrome and its effect on the life style, dietary pattern and dietary intake of women was conducted on 100 women (both working and non-working) in the age group of 30-40 years in NCR region. Questionnaire cum interview method was used for selection of respondents for obtaining reliable and authentic information. Dietary intake was obtained by carrying out a 3 days dietary recall. The findings indicate that majority of the respondents had their menarche in 13-15 years of age. Family history is a significant factor in PMS, since the majority of the respondent s mothers and sisters were of the same age group. It was found that working women were suffering from various symptoms such as mood swings, tension, decreased interest in work and activities, lack of energy, irritability, vaginal fluid, fatigue, sleep disturbances and breast tenderness etc. and all of them were trying to overcome by consulting a doctor, self-medication by taking ginger tea and ajwain tea or by listening music because of its de-stressor effect. Few of them had a family history of PMS. Most of them were aware of the term PMS and the sources of awareness were doctors, peers, books and magazines. Respondents who consulted physicians performed well and were able to cope with the symptoms. There has been a significant shift in their dietary intake. In some women with PMS, there was an increase in appetite during the premenstrual days. Accompanying the increased appetite, an increased desire to consume high carbohydrate foods, sweets and chocolates has been reported. From the present study it was noticed that in most of the women there was loss of appetite, due to this the daily intake of essential nutrients was lower than the RDA. It is observed in most of the respondents that day to day lives of women get affected by premenstrual symptoms and additionally it also affects personal and familial relationships with people around her. It very well may be said that handling PMS is difficult which can be overseen however a l