Background & Aims
Menstrual pain is a common condition of discomfort and pain that is associated with the contraction and relaxation of the uterine muscles during women’s menstrual periods and is usually felt in the lower abdomen. The majority of women are cyclically exposed to menstrual pain, the severity and duration of which varies from person to person. Traditionally, discussions surrounding menstruation have centered on physiological aspects and hormonal fluctuations. However, emerging research suggests that the effects of menstrual pain might reach beyond the realm of the physical, influencing cognitive processes such as attention, memory, and decision-making. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between pain intensity and cognitive functions in menstrual pain, which is one of the chronic pain conditions and continues cyclically every month for a long time in women.
Methods
A total of 66 young nulliparous women who were over the age of 18, had regular menstrual periods, had menstrual pain for more than 6 months, and had not any other chronic pain were included in the study. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were evaluated with a standard questionnaire. Womens were shown the region of menstrual pain on a figure and they were asked to mark the relevant average pain severity on a 10 cm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) was used to evaluate pain experience and understand individuals’ attitudes towards pain. The “Montreal Cognitive Assessment – MoCA” was used to evaluate cognitive functions in various areas such as memory, attention, language, verbal fluency, visual-spatial skills and functional abilities. Pearson’s correlations were used to explore the relationship between menstrual pain severity, duration of menstrual pain complaint, PCS and MoCA.
Results
The mean of age and body mass index (BMI) of individuals participating in this study were 22.12 ± 3.05 years and 23.95±3.78 kg/m2 . The mean of menstrual pain intensity in the last 6 months was 5.14±2.39 cm. The mean of duration of menstrual pain complaint was 3.10±3.85 year. There was negative, weak correlation between the duration of menstrual pain complaint and visual construction skill subscale of MoCA (r=-0.254, p=0.042). In addition, there were negative, weak correlation between the PCS total (r=-0.368, p=0.003) and rumination (r=-0.334, p=0.007) magnification (r=-0.288, p=0.020) , helplessness (r=-0.319, p=0.010) subscale of PCS and visual construction skill subscale of MoCA. However, there was no correlation between the menstrual pain severity and MoCA (p>0.05).
Conclusions
The study revealed that women with a longer duration of menstrual pain and higher pain catastrophizing scores may have poorer visual structuring-related cognitive function. In women, cyclical and long-term pain, especially in the lower abdominal region, can worsen the cognitive function related to the visual configuration that takes place with the participation of the occipital, parietal and frontal lobes in the brain. However, due to the complexity of this relationship and its variability from individual to individual, further research and comprehensive analyzes may be important to develop more effective intervention strategies for both women’s health and cognitive functions.
References
1.Orhan, C., Çelenay, ?. T., Demirtürk, F., Özgül, S., Üzelpasac?, E., & Akbayrak, T. (2018). Effects of menstrual pain on the academic performance and participation in sports and social activities in Turkish university students with primary dysmenorrhea: A case control study. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research, 44(11), 2101-2109.
2.Bahrami, A., Sadeghnia, H., Avan, A., Mirmousavi, S. J., Moslem, A., Eslami, S., … & Ghayour-Mobarhan, M. (2017). Neuropsychological function in relation to dysmenorrhea in adolescents. European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, 215, 224-229.
Presenting Author
Esra Uzelpasaci
Poster Authors
Esra ÜZELPASACI
PhD
University of Health Science
Lead Author
Topics
- Specific Pain Conditions/Pain in Specific Populations: Abdominal and Pelvic Pain