Biomaterial Database

Premenstrual tension among nurses in Nairobi, Kenya. 1993

N P Rupani, and V M Lema

Kakamega Provincial Hospital, Kenya.

A sample of 400 nurses at the Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi were interviewed by means of investigator-administered questionnaire to determine the prevalence and some other aspects of premenstrual tension (PMT) amongst them. Premenstrual tension (PMT) syndrome was found in 95.5% of the study group, with mastalgia being the commonest symptom (79.0%) followed by abdominal bloating (75.0%). Some features such as suicidal tendencies, inability to cope, insomnia were found to be rare among them. There was no correlation between age, marital status, parity, or dysmenorrhoea and premenstrual tension. Almost all the nurses with PMT, did not consider it an illness, rather as normal part of their femininity. As a result only 6.5% of them had changed their activities during this period, and only 3.1% had used medication for it. It is concluded that premenstrual tension is prevalent among women in Kenya, and that because of their attitude towards it, the condition does not appear to be associated with any serious morbidity.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007630	Kenya	A republic in eastern Africa, south of ETHIOPIA, west of SOMALIA with TANZANIA to its south, and coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Nairobi.	Republic of Kenya
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D009741	Nursing Staff, Hospital	Personnel who provide nursing service to patients in a hospital.	Hospital Nursing Staff,Hospital Nursing Staffs,Nursing Staffs, Hospital,Staff, Hospital Nursing,Staffs, Hospital Nursing
D011293	Premenstrual Syndrome	A combination of distressing physical, psychologic, or behavioral changes that occur during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Symptoms of PMS are diverse (such as pain, water-retention, anxiety, cravings, and depression) and they diminish markedly 2 or 3 days after the initiation of menses.	Premenstrual Tension,Premenstrual Syndromes,Premenstrual Tensions,Syndrome, Premenstrual,Syndromes, Premenstrual,Tension, Premenstrual,Tensions, Premenstrual
D011795	Surveys and Questionnaires	Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions.	Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293	Adolescent	A person 13 to 18 years of age.	Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D000328	Adult	A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available.	Adults
D012307	Risk Factors	An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, inborn or inherited characteristic, which, based on epidemiological evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent.	Health Correlates,Risk Factor Scores,Risk Scores,Social Risk Factors,Population at Risk,Populations at Risk,Correlates, Health,Factor, Risk,Factor, Social Risk,Factors, Social Risk,Risk Factor,Risk Factor Score,Risk Factor, Social,Risk Factors, Social,Risk Score,Score, Risk,Score, Risk Factor,Social Risk Factor