Adolescent Dysmenorrhoea Raises Risk of Chronic Pain in Adulthood, suggests study
Researchers have discovered in a new study that teenage girls suffering from dysmenorrhoea, painful periods are more likely to experience chronic pain in later life. The results are based on the UK's large Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) birth cohort study. The research identified that the adolescents with moderate to severe dysmenorrhoea at 15 years were more likely to be reporting chronic pain at age 26 compared to their peers who did not experience menstrual pain. The study was published in The Lancet: Child & Adolescent Health by Rachel R. and colleagues.
The study involved 1,157 individuals from childhood to early adulthood. From ages 8 through 17 years, participants were queried each year about menstrual pain. At age 15, they completed a question about whether their dysmenorrhoea was mild, moderate, or severe. At age 26, participants were queried whether they had had pain ≥3 months in the preceding year.
Researchers employed multivariable logistic regression models that were adjusted for a variety of confounders, such as ethnicity, maternal education, adverse childhood experiences, pre-menarchal depressive symptoms, BMI, smoking, diet factors, and physical activity. Mediation analysis was conducted in order to determine if anxiety and depression following dysmenorrhoea was responsible for the association between menstrual pain and subsequent chronic pain.
Results
At age 15, 691 (59.7%) of the sample had moderate or severe dysmenorrhoea. At age 26, 307 (26.5%) had chronic pain.
Prevalence of chronic pain was closely associated with severity of dysmenorrhoea in adolescence:
No dysmenorrhoea: 32 out of 185 (17.3%) had chronic pain at age 26.
Mild dysmenorrhoea: 62 out of 281 (22.1%) had chronic pain.
Moderate dysmenorrhoea: 157 out of 524 (30.0%) had chronic pain.
Severe dysmenorrhoea: 56 of 167 (33.5%) had chronic pain.
Adjusted relative risks (RRs) for chronic pain at age 26 were:
Mild dysmenorrhoea: RR = 1.23 (95% CI 0.85–1.74, p=0.27)
Moderate dysmenorrhoea: RR = 1.65 (95% CI 1.22–2.18, p=0.0021)
Severe dysmenorrhoea: RR = 1.76 (95% CI 1.23–2.39, p=0.0030)
These are equivalent to absolute risk increases of:
4.8 percentage points (95% CI –2.5 to 12.1) for mild
12.7 percentage points (95% CI 5.9–19.4) for moderate
16.2 percentage points (95% CI 7.2–25.2) for severe dysmenorrhoea
Adolescent dysmenorrhoea was also shown to substantially raise the risk of adult chronic pain, particularly of moderate or severe intensity. Menstrual pain in adolescence should be regarded as a key public health problem, the authors opine. Early detection and good management are essential for lessening future health burdens.
Reference:
Reid-McCann, R., Poli-Neto, O. B., Stein, K., Dixon, S., Cox, E., Coxon, L., Fazel, M., Noonan, M., Sharp, G. C., Zondervan, K., & Vincent, K. (2025). Longitudinal association between dysmenorrhoea in adolescence and chronic pain in adulthood: a UK population-based study. The Lancet. Child & Adolescent Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2352-4642(25)00213-5
