Table 1.
Characteristics of the case and control groups
| Variables | Cases (n = 46) | Controls (n = 54) | P-valuea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (y) (Mean ± SD) | 21.89 ± 1.43 | 21.92 ± 1.83 | 0.41 |
| Age at menarche (y) (Mean ± SD) | 13.43 ± 1.47 | 13.61 ± 1.43 | 0.28 |
| Length of menstrual cycle (days) | 28.63 ± 1.92 | 28.44 ± 3.23 | 0.19 |
| Menstrual cycle regularity, n (%) | 0.49 | ||
| Yes | 46 (46.9) | 52 (53.1) | |
| No | 0 | 2 (100) | |
| Bleeding length (days) | 5.52 ± 1.5 | 5.19 ± 1.1 | 0.09 |
| Severity of menstrual flow, n (%) | 0.01 | ||
| Low | 0 | 3 (100) | |
| Moderate | 30 (41.7) | 42 (58.3) | |
| Severe | 16 (64) | 9 (36) | |
| Family history of dysmenorrhea, n (%) | < 0.001 | ||
| Yes | 41 (56.9) | 31 (43.1) | |
| No | 5 (17.9) | 23 (82.1) | |
| Physical activity level, n (%) | 0.71 | ||
| Low | 11 (47.8) | 12 (52.2) | |
| Moderate | 27 (48.2) | 29 (51.8) | |
| High | 8 (38.1) | 13 (61.9) | |
| Depression-anxiety levels, n (%) | 0.02 | ||
| Normal | 9 (30) | 21 (70) | |
| Mild | 24 (49) | 25 (51) | |
| Moderate | 8 (80) | 2 (20) | |
| Severe | 5 (45.5) | 6 (54.5) | |
| BMI (kg/m2), (Mean ± SD) | 21.71 ± 2.69 | 21.59 ± 2.39 | 0.4 |
| Daily energy intake (Kcal), (Mean ± SD) | 2655.20 ± 822.39 | 2706.99 ± 892.50 | 0.59 |
aSignificance is derived from Pearson chi squared test for categorical variables (family history of dysmenorrhea, physical activity level and depression-anxiety level); fisher’s exact test for severity of menstrual flow and cycle regularity; independent-samples t-test for BMI and daily energy intake and Mann-Whitney U test for age, age at menarche, length of menstrual cycle and bleeding length