Table 5.
Investigation of mothers’ and daughters’ experience and perception of menstruation.
| Women with dysmenorrhea (now or in the past) (N = 511) | Women without dysmenorrhea ever (N = 568) | p-value* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age at menarche | 510 | 568 | <0.001 |
| 8–11 years | 103 (20.20%) | 83 (14.61%) | |
| 12–15 years | 368 (72.16%) | 432 (76.06%) | |
| >15 years | 39 (5.64%) | 53 (9.33%) | |
| Onset of dysmenorrhea | 507 | 260 | <0.001 |
| Yes, onset at menarche | 240 (47.34%) | 101 (38.85%) | |
| Yes, onset 2–3 years after menarche | 95 (18.75%) | 65 (25%) | |
| Yes, onset >3 years after menarche | 172 (33.92%) | 94 (36.15%) | |
| Memories associated with menarche | 506 | 562 | <0.001 |
| Only pleasant memories | 27 (5.34%) | 50 (8.90%) | |
| More pleasant than unpleasant memories | 93 (18.38%) | 146 (25.98%) | |
| More unpleasant than pleasant memories | 211 (41.70%) | 217 (38.61%) | |
| Only unpleasant memories | 107 (21.15%) | 47 (8.36%) | |
| No memories | 68 (13.44%) | 102 (18.15%) | |
| Dysmenorrhea in mother | 481 | 548 | <0.001 |
| Very painful | 115 (23.91%) | 61 (11.13%) | |
| Somewhat painful | 146 (30.35%) | 140 (25.55%) | |
| Unknown | 75 (15.59%) | 109 (19.89%) | |
| Not painful | 145 (30.15%) | 238 (43.43%) | |
| Mothers’ attitude towards menstruation | 479 | 543 | <0.001 |
| Rather positive | 21 (4.38%) | 16 (2.95%) | |
| Rather negative | 185 (38.62%) | 216 (39.78%) | |
| Unknown | 112 (23.38%) | 75 (13.81%) | |
| Neutral | 161 (33.61%) | 236 (43.46%) |
Data presented as n (%) using Mann-Withney-U test for age at menarche, Pearson chi-squared and Fisher's exact test for other variables.
*The bold p-values indicate the statistical significance in the bivariate analysis, significant p-values are Bonferroni corrected α = 0.01.