한국 여자고등학생들의 월경전기 증상

Premenstrual Symptoms in Korean High School Girls

This study was aimed at examining the premenstrual symptoms in adolescents and comparing the symptoms between students of liberal high school and those o f art high school. The subjects consisted of 164 liberal high school students and 177 art high school students. Premenstrual symptoms were evaluated with the premenstrual assessment form. Among premenstrual symptoms in all the subjects, back, joint and muscle aches, lethargy, abdominal discomfort or pain, feeling o f malaise, and stressful feeling were the most frequent ones. And regarding the typological categories, general discomfort syndrome(70.1%) was the most frequent, followed by impaired social functioning(43.1%), minor depressive syndrome(32. 0%), fatigue syndrome(29.3%), and impulsive syndrome(27.3%). On the other hand, major depressive syndrome was noted in 6.7%. The students in liberal high school more frequently reported general disocomfort syndrome and water retention syndrome than those in art high school. In comparison with the results of the previous studies for adults, the frequency of major depressive syndrome was remarkably low. Students of music group reported withdrawn depression more frequently than those of art group. Students with high economic status more frequently reported hostile depression, impulsive syndrome and water retention syndrome than those with low economic status. Students with a family history of premenstrual syndrome more frequently reported hostile depression, general discomfort syndrome, water retention syndrome, fatigue syndrome and impaired social functioning than those without the family history. In addition, dysmenorrhea and medication during a period of dysmenorrhea were significantly associated with premenstrual symptoms. These results suggest that premenstrual symptoms of adolescents are similar to those of adults as previously reported, except for major depressive syndrome, and that students in liberal high school are more likely to have somatic symptoms than those in art high school. Thus, it is emphasized that medical attention should be paid to premenstrual symptoms of adolescents like those of adults