OBJECTIVE: North Korean women defectors have suffered from anxiety, depression, and somatization after defection. Also they have had many menstrual problems like amenorrhea. This study was done to identify the correlations of anxiety, depression, and somatization to menstrual problems among North Korean woman defectors in South Korea. METHODS: The participants in this study were 126 women from 5 government resettlement centers throughout South Korea. Questionnaires which included State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Center for Epidemiological studies-Depression Scale (CED-S), and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) were used to identify anxiety and somatization. Data were collected between June and September, 2012. RESULTS: The women reported the following problems; amenorrhea (9.5%), hypomenorrhea (13.6%), menorrhagia (19.8%), polymenorrhea (13.5%), oligomenorrhea (4.8%), changes in amount of menstrual discharge (4.0%), and changes in amount of blood clot (9.5%). Anxiety (r=0.20, p=0.002), depression (r=0.25, p=0.005), and Somatization (r=0.35, p<0.001) were correlated with number of menstrual problems. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that mental health services need to be taken into account in interventions for North Korean woman defectors to improve their reproductive health including addressing menstrual problems.
Amenorrhea ; Anxiety* ; Depression* ; Female ; Humans ; Korea* ; Menorrhagia ; Menstruation ; Menstruation Disturbances ; Mental Health Services ; Oligomenorrhea ; Reproductive Health

Menarche is an important event and a primary indicator of the onset of sexual maturation during adolescent girls. During adolescence, severe gynecologic disorders are very rare but menstrual problems are common. Common menstrual disorders are amenorrhea, abnormal uterine bleeding, dysmenorrhea and premenstrual syndrome. Although most menstrual problems are caused by immaturity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis and can be normal during the first few years after menarche, organic pathology must always be considered. This article reviews the causes, diagnosis and treatment of above menstrual disorders in adolescence as well as normal menstrual cycle physiology.
Adolescent ; Amenorrhea ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Dysmenorrhea ; Female ; Humans ; Menarche ; Menstrual Cycle ; Menstruation Disturbances ; Premenstrual Syndrome ; Sexual Maturation ; Uterine Hemorrhage

PURPOSE: This study compares the prevalence of pubertal menstrual disorders in type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients with that in normal subjects. METHODS: A questionnaire was used to obtain data on pubertal development and menstrual history from 43 type 1 DM patients, who were diagnosed at the pediatrics department of Severance Children's Hospital, Yonsei University, and 56 normal control subjects. We evaluated the estrogen levels in all type 1 DM patients. RESULTS: The age at onset of puberty did not significantly differ between the 2 groups. However, the prevalence of oligomenorrhea in type 1 DM patients (21.21%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (2.08%; P<0.05). In addition, the incidence of amenorrhea in type 1 DM patients (20.59%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (2.08%; P<0.05). Pubertal development in type 1 DM patients was delayed due to elevated levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). The delay (9 months) in pubertal development in the patients diagnosed with type 1 DM at prepubertal ages was shorter than that (14.8 months) in the patients diagnosed with type 1 DM at postpubertal age (P<0.05). The level of LH, FSH were higher and E2 level was lower in DM patients compared to control group, especially in diabetics with amenorrhea (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: We observed a high frequency of delayed pubertal development and menstruation irregularities in patients who were diagnosed with type 1 DM at the prepubertal age or in type 1 DM patients with high levels of HbA1c. This finding can be attributed to the decreased plasma levels of E2 or due to the decreased E2 activity in patients with type 1 DM. Further evaluation of hormonal changes in type 1 DM patients is essential.
Amenorrhea ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 ; Estrogens ; Female ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated ; Humans ; Incidence ; Menstruation ; Menstruation Disturbances ; Oligomenorrhea ; Pediatrics ; Plasma ; Prevalence ; Puberty ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The infertility rate changes from 10% to 18%. This rate is 13% in Vietnam. The reason of infertility can be attributed to both husband or/and wife. So both of them must be examined. Some principles and method of infertility treatment: treatment for both husband and wife ASAP, radical treatment for genital infection or inflamatory, early treatment for menstruation disorder; combination clomiphencitrate with HCG; gamete intra-fallopian transfer; in vtro - fertilization embryo transfer; intra cytoplasmic sperm infection.
Infertility ; Infection ; Menstruation Disturbances

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of menstrual and reproductive dysfunction among subjects who have undergone radioiodine treatment for thyroid carcinoma.
METHODOLOGY: This study enrolled adult women with Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma who received the treatment at age 40 years and below. Data was processed using SAS program and evaluated using Fischer's test and Wilcoxon test.
RESULTS: The study enrolled 46 women. Three reported cycle irregularities, 4 reported changes in amount of bleeding and 1 had amenorrhea. The prevalence rate of menstrual abnormalities was 15.2%. These women received a significantly higher dose of radioactive iodine (RAI) (120 vs. 110 mCi, p = 0.0064). Eleven women tried to conceive and there were 5 births to 5 different subjects after radiation. There were no congenital anomalies and 1 miscarriage. Four women were menopausal with an average age of 44.4 years old.
CONCLUSION: This study showed that the prevalence of menstrual disturbances after high dose radioactive iodine treatment among thyroid cancer patients is 15.2%. The affected group received a significantly higher dose of radioactive iodine compared to the unaffected group.

Human ; Female ; Adult ; Abortion, Spontaneous ; Amenorrhea ; Iodine ; Iodine Radioisotopes ; Menopause ; Menstruation Disturbances ; Prevalence ; Radiation ; Thyroid Neoplasms

Uterine malformations consist of a group of miscellaneous congenital anomalies of the female genital system, and these anomalies are the result of major disturbances in the development, such as formation or fusion of the Mullerian or paramesonephric ducts during fetal life. The Mullerian anomalies have been estimated to occur in up to 0.001~10%, and these anomalies may be associated with numerous congenital anomalies, and ipsilateral renal anomalies especially are the most common. The uterine didelphys with obstructed hemivagina and ipsilateral renal agenesis clinically may result in dysmenorrhea, low abdominal pain, endometriosis or pelvic mass after menarche. Furthemore the delayed diagnosis causes infertility and poor pregnancy outcome due to continued retrograde menstruation which leads to endometriosis and distorted pelvic anatomy. These anomalies could be diagnosed with ultrasonography and MRI that have the high sensitivity and specificity. Excision of vaginal septum and marsupialization are appropriate treatments to relieve symptoms and reserve fertility. We report 7 cases of uterine didelphys with obstructed hemivagina and ipsi-unilateral renal agenesis with a brief review of relevant literatures to help understand these anomalies.
Abdominal Pain ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Delayed Diagnosis ; Dysmenorrhea ; Endometriosis ; Female ; Fertility ; Humans ; Infertility ; Kidney ; Kidney Diseases ; Menarche ; Menstruation Disturbances ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Sensitivity and Specificity

OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed at identifying a correlation between polycystic ovarian morphology (PCOM) and the severity of primary dysmenorrhea in young Korean women. METHODS: A total of 592 patients who visited a tertiary hospital from March 2008 to March 2015 for dysmenorrhea were examined. After excluding those with secondary causes of menstrual pain (for example, myoma, adenomyosis, endometriosis, and pelvic inflammatory disease), 361 women were recruited and retrospectively analyzed. Severe dysmenorrhea was defined as a visual analog scale (VAS) score ≥6. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 23.0±4.0 years, the average menstrual cycle length was 34.4±23.7 days, and the average pain intensity was VAS 6.7±0.1 at baseline. PCOM was assessed by ultrasound in 54 women (15%). Patients with severe menstrual pain were more likely to have irregular menstrual cycles (P=0.03) and heavy menstrual flow (P=0.01) than those with mild menstrual pain. After adjusting for weight, height, menstrual cycle interval, and menstrual flow in the logistic regression analysis, PCOM (odds ratio [OR], 2.26; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05–4.97; P=0.04) and heavy menstrual flow (OR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.05–3.28; P=0.04) were found to be significant independent factors influencing pain. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that PCOM may have a correlation with the severity of primary dysmenorrhea. Since PCOM may play a role in the development of menstrual pain, patients with PCOM should be under active surveillance with resources for prompt pain management readily available. It may also be necessary to further investigate the molecular mechanisms of pain development in primary dysmenorrhea.
Adenomyosis ; Dysmenorrhea ; Endometriosis ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Menstrual Cycle ; Menstruation Disturbances ; Myoma ; Pain Management ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ; Retrospective Studies ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Ultrasonography ; Visual Analog Scale

No abstract available.
Dysmenorrhea* ; Female ; Mastodynia* ; Premenstrual Syndrome*

Female ; Humans ; Menstruation ; physiology ; Menstruation Disturbances ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Occupational Health ; Stress, Psychological ; complications ; epidemiology ; physiopathology

Through the discussion on TCM physiological characters of females in follicular, ovulatory, luteal and menstrual phases and treatment principles, the clinical application of artificial cycle therapy of acupuncture and moxibustion was introduced for irregular menstruation and the typical cases were attached. It is suggested that the menstrual cycle follows the growth-consumption rule of yin, yang, qi and blood. The corresponding treatment principles should be applied in accordance with the change rule of menstrual cycle. Hence, it is worth to adopt the artificial cycle therapy of acupuncture and moxibustion for irregular menstruation in clinical application.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Menstruation ; Menstruation Disturbances ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Moxibustion