Unveiling the associated factors of menstrual experience and its relation with health-related quality of life among the female university students: a cross-sectional study in the Balasore district of Odisha
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Anthropology, Fakir Mohan University, Balasore, Odisha 756089 India
- 2Department of Social Science (Economics), Fakir Mohan University, Balasore, Odisha 756089 India
- 3Department of Population Studies, Fakir Mohan University, Balasore, Odisha 756089 India
- 4Department of Social Work, Fakir Mohan University, Balasore, Odisha 756089 India
Abstract
Background: Poor menstrual health poses a persistent challenge to young women, particularly to those navigating both academic life and experiencing a profound biopsychological transition. The university students often live in varied residential environments, experience issues like inaccessible sanitation infrastructure, lack of privacy, and peer influence, which shape their menstrual health and well-being. However, in a country like India, addressing such an evidence gap among the youth students is imperative to develop effective interventions and to restructure the institutional policies. In this purview, the present study explores the menstrual pattern, health, and ailments among the youth students in a higher education institutional setting, and explores their link with quality of life.
Methods: The present study employed a cross-sectional survey in the district of Balasore, among the adult female university students. Multi-stage sampling was performed to identify study participants., Informed consent was obtained as well. Self-administered questionnaires were used to obtain data on socio-demographic characteristics, menstrual characteristics, ailments and disorders, and health-related quality of life. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were performed for data analysis.
Results: The findings highlight that almost two-thirds of the total 284 students were hostel boarders, while a few resided in their homes. The use of sanitary pads was common (93.7%), but several followed an unhygienic method of disposal (13.0%). Study participants reported common issues like heavy bleeding, frequent delay in menstruation, and crampy abdominal pain. Interestingly, the prevalence of primary dysmenorrhea was around 72%. Around 36% of the study participants were dissatisfied with their menstrual experience, which was significantly associated with lower age and low maternal education. The study participants had poor physical functioning, poor vitality, and poor social functioning related to their menstrual health-related quality of life, especially in the case of the younger age cohort, those living in rented hostels, and those experiencing heavy menstrual bleeding. The study participants, who had dissatisfactory menstrual experiences and had multiple diagnosed menstrual disorders, showed a significantly greater likelihood of having poor menstrual health-related quality of life.
Conclusion: Overall findings highlight an alarming menstrual health scenario among female university students attributed to ailments, poor hygiene, and lower quality of life. This underscores the need for peer support, awareness, and strong institutional sensitization.
Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-026-04686-7.
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BibTeX
@article{ghatuary2026unveiling,
title = {{Unveiling the associated factors of menstrual experience and its relation with health-related quality of life among the female university students: a cross-sectional study in the Balasore district of Odisha}},
author = {Rojalin Ghatuary and Rashmi Mahato and Ganesh Chandra Gan and Sameer Kumar Jena and Mamata Sahoo and Rashmi Ranjan Das and Supriya Rout and Akash Mallick},
journal = {BMC Women's Health},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1186/s12905-026-04686-7},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-026-04686-7},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Unveiling the associated factors of menstrual experience and its relation with health-related quality of life among the female university students: a cross-sectional study in the Balasore district of Odisha
AU - Rojalin Ghatuary
AU - Rashmi Mahato
AU - Ganesh Chandra Gan
AU - Sameer Kumar Jena
AU - Mamata Sahoo
AU - Rashmi Ranjan Das
AU - Supriya Rout
AU - Akash Mallick
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/07
JO - BMC Women's Health
DO - 10.1186/s12905-026-04686-7
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-026-04686-7
AB - Background: Poor menstrual health poses a persistent challenge to young women, particularly to those navigating both academic life and experiencing a profound biopsychological transition. The university students often live in varied residential environments, experience issues like inaccessible sanitation infrastructure, lack of privacy, and peer influence, which shape their menstrual health and well-being. However, in a country like India, addressing such an evidence gap among the youth students is imperative to develop effective interventions and to restructure the institutional policies. In this purview, the present study explores the menstrual pattern, health, and ailments among the youth students in a higher education institutional setting, and explores their link with quality of life. Methods: The present study employed a cross-sectional survey in the district of Balasore, among the adult female university students. Multi-stage sampling was performed to identify study participants., Informed consent was obtained as well. Self-administered questionnaires were used to obtain data on socio-demographic characteristics, menstrual characteristics, ailments and disorders, and health-related quality of life. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were performed for data analysis. Results: The findings highlight that almost two-thirds of the total 284 students were hostel boarders, while a few resided in their homes. The use of sanitary pads was common (93.7%), but several followed an unhygienic method of disposal (13.0%). Study participants reported common issues like heavy bleeding, frequent delay in menstruation, and crampy abdominal pain. Interestingly, the prevalence of primary dysmenorrhea was around 72%. Around 36% of the study participants were dissatisfied with their menstrual experience, which was significantly associated with lower age and low maternal education. The study participants had poor physical functioning, poor vitality, and poor social functioning related to their menstrual health-related quality of life, especially in the case of the younger age cohort, those living in rented hostels, and those experiencing heavy menstrual bleeding. The study participants, who had dissatisfactory menstrual experiences and had multiple diagnosed menstrual disorders, showed a significantly greater likelihood of having poor menstrual health-related quality of life. Conclusion: Overall findings highlight an alarming menstrual health scenario among female university students attributed to ailments, poor hygiene, and lower quality of life. This underscores the need for peer support, awareness, and strong institutional sensitization. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-026-04686-7.
SN - 1472-6874
ER -