Patterns of menstrual cycle, menstrual pain and medication usage in young women of high-income and middle-income countries

RESEARCH QUESTION Do patterns of the menstrual cycle, menstrual pain and the use of medication for menstrual pain differ between young women from high-income countries (HIC) and middle-income countries (MIC)? DESIGN A multinational, multicentre, cross-sectional study using pen-and-paper questionnaires was conducted between 2016 and 2021 to assess patterns of the menstrual cycle, menstrual pain and the use of medication for menstrual pain. Various parameters were evaluated to identify high-risk factors for severe menstrual pain in women from two HIC (n = 1550) and nine MIC (n = 7139). RESULTS From a total of 9114 young women, 4920 medical students (HIC n = 696, MIC n = 4224) and 3769 nursing students (HIC n = 854, MIC n = 2915) were…