INTRODUCTION:

Adolescence is a time for growth spurts and puberty changes. Sexual and other physical maturation that happens during puberty results from hormonal changes. Normal pubertal development is characterized by major physical alterations: sexual maturation, changes in body composition, and rapid skeletal growth.¹

Premenstrual syndrome, a common cyclic disorder of young and middle-aged women, is characterized by emotional and physical symptoms that consistently occur during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.²

Women with PMS have higher rates of work absences, higher medical expenses, and lower health-related quality of life. Physicians can tailor therapy to achieve the greatest functional improvement possible for their patients, which includes serotonergic antidepressants, Oral contraceptives, calcium supplements, cognitive behavior therapy, and other complementary alternative therapies.³

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY:

According to the WHO, 92% of the young female population worldwide is affected by PMS. Studies found that in India, there is a 20% prevalence of PMS in the general adolescent population, and among those, 8% have severe symptoms.A study conducted by Nazeema Beevi among 510 adolescent girls in Trivandrum found that 75% of girls had one or more problems associated with menstruation, and 31.6% reported problems interfering with their activity.⁴

NEED AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:

A cross-sectional study done by Karapagavilli G and Raj Rani assessed PMS among 200 nursing students in Chennai. The study revealed that 68% sample had experienced PMS. Muscle pain, joint pain, and back pain were the common symptoms identified among them. About 50% of the students had affective symptoms in the premenstrual phase.⁵

A prospective study was conducted by Nattapong Buddhabunyakan and Srinaree Kaewrudee to assess the prevalence of PMS among 399 menstruating high school students in Thailand suggested that 35% of students reported PMS and the most common somatic and affective symptoms among participants with PMS were breast tenderness (74.4%) and angry outbursts (97.7%).⁶

Based on the above facts, the investigators found that it is relevant to assess the knowledge of adolescent girls regarding premenstrual syndrome.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

A study to assess the knowledge regarding pre-menstrual syndrome among adolescent girls in a selected college of nursing, Thiruvananthapuram.

OBJECTIVES:

1. To assess the level of knowledge regarding pre-menstrual syndrome among adolescent girls in a selected college of nursing.

2. To find out the association between the level of knowledge regarding pre-menstrual syndrome and selected socio-personal variables.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS:

Knowledge:

It refers to the level of understanding of information regarding the cause, symptoms, management, and prevention of premenstrual symptoms among adolescent girls, which can be assessed by scores obtained from a knowledge questionnaire.

Pre-Menstrual Syndrome:

It is defined as a group of physical and emotional symptoms such as mood swings, depression, anger outbursts, tension, joint or muscle pain, lower back or abdominal pain, and breast tenderness that occur in adolescent girls before menstruation.

Adolescent Girls:

It refers to adolescent girls who belong to the age group of 17-19 years, students studying in the first year of B.Sc. Nursing, KIMS College of Nursing, Thiruvananthapuram.

HYPOTHESES:

^H1^:^{There is a significant association
between the knowledge of adolescent girls and selected}Socio-personal variables such as age, age of menarche, religion, family income, exercise pattern, intake of junk food, intake of water, body weight, family history of PMS, previous knowledge and source of information.

ASSUMPTIONS:

1. Adolescent girls may have limited knowledge regarding PMS.

2. Knowledge of PMS may improve their adaptability to daily activities.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

· Research Approach: Quantitative approach

· Research Design: Non -Non-experimental descriptive research design

· Variables: Independent variable: Structured teaching programme

· Dependent variable: Knowledge

· Setting: KIMS College of Nursing, Thiruvananthapuram.

· Population: The target population of this study was Adolescent girls aged between 17-19 years. The accessible population was Adolescent girls aged between 17-19 years of first-year B.Sc. Nursing

· Sample: Adolescent girls in first-year B.Sc. Nursing from KIMS College of Nursing, Thiruvananthapuram, who fulfilled the inclusion criteria

· Sampling Technique: Non-probability purposive sampling technique was used.

· Sample size: 60

Criteria for Sample Selection:

Inclusive criteria:

1. Adolescent girls who are willing to participate in the study.

2. Adolescent girls who belong to the age group of 17-19 years.

Exclusive criteria:

1. Adolescent girls who have difficulty with the online mode of data collection.

Tools For Data Collection:

The tool has two sections.

Section A: It includes Socio-personal variables such as the age of menarche, religion, family income, exercise pattern, intake of junk food, intake of water, body weight, family history of PMS, previous knowledge, and source of information.

Section B: Structured knowledge questionnaire to assess the knowledge regarding pre-menstrual syndrome, including 30 multiple-choice questions, each carrying one mark.

Scoring:

The structured questionnaire is scored based on the answer key. Each correct answer will be awarded 1 mark, and the wrong answer will be awarded no mark. The maximum score is 30, and the minimum score is 0.

Table 1: Grading of Knowledge Level

Level of knowledge	Percentage
Poor	<50%
Average	50-75%
Good	>75%

Pilot Study:

The pilot study will be conducted among 6 samples that meet the inclusion criteria.

Data Collection Procedure:

The permission for data collection will be obtained from the institutional ethical committee and the Principal, KIMS College of Nursing, Thiruvananthapuram, before data collection. The link will be provided through WhatsApp or email to the participants who satisfy the inclusion criteria. Informed consent will be obtained from the participants through a Google form, and the data will be collected using a structured questionnaire after the consent.

Data Analysis and Interpretation:

Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Descriptive Statistics:

Frequency, mean, and standard deviation were used to describe socio-personal variables and the level of knowledge.

Inferential Statistics:

The Chi-square will be used to find out the association between knowledge of premenstrual syndrome and selected socio-personal variables.

FINDINGS OF THE STUDY:

Section A: Distribution of samples according to level of knowledge

Table 2: Distribution of Samples According to Level of Knowledge

Level of knowledge	Frequency	Percentage
Poor (0-14)	28	46.7
Average (15-23)	32	53.3
Good (24-30)	0	0

Table 2 shows that among 60 samples, 46.7% had poor knowledge, 53.3% had average knowledge, and none had good knowledge regarding premenstrual syndrome.

Section B: Association between the level of knowledge regarding pre-menstrual syndrome and daily intake of water.

Table 3: Chi-square value showing an association between the level of knowledge regarding pre-menstrual syndrome and daily intake of water n=60

Sl. No	Demographic variables	Knowledge scores			Χ ^{2 value}
Sl. No	Demographic variables	Good	Average	Poor	Χ ^{2 value}
1	Daily intake of water: A. < 1 litre	0	17	6	14.37* Df=4
	B. 1-2 litres	0	12	21
	C. > 2 litres	0	3	1

Table 3 shows that the calculated chi-square value (χ2= 14.37) is more than that of the tabulated value (9.488) at the 0.05 level, so there is a significant association between the level of knowledge and daily intake of water.

DISCUSSION:

On analysis, out of 60 samples, 1.6% belong to the age of 17 years, 56.7% belong to the age of 18 years, and 41.7% belong to the age of 19 years. Based on religion, 45% of the samples were Hindus, 41.7% were Christians, and 13.3% were Muslims. Regarding place of residence, 61.7% of the samples live in the city and 38.3% live in villages. 18.3% of samples have a monthly family income of less than 5,000 rupees, 21.7% have a monthly family income of 5,001 to 10,000 rupees, 31, 7% have a monthly family income of 10,001 to 20,000 rupees, and 28.3% have a monthly family income of more than 20,000 rupees. Concerning the age of menarche, 30% of the sample attained menarche at the age of 10- 12 years, 58% had it during 13-15 years and 12% had it after 15 years. Related to body weight, 38.3% of samples have a body weight between 30 to 49 kilograms, 55% have a body weight between 50 to 69 kilograms, and 6.7% have a body weight above 70 kilograms. By consumption of water, 11.7% of samples drink less than 1 liter of water per day, 75% drink 1 to 2 liters per day, and 13.3% drink more than 2 liters per day. Regarding exercise, 75% of the samples exercise daily, 10% exercise occasionally, and 15% never exercise. Out of 60 samples, none of them consume junk food every day, 30% consume junk food a few times a week, 66.7% consume junk food a few times a month, and 3.3% never consume junk food. Concerning family history, 16.7% had a family history of premenstrual syndrome and 83.3% did not. Concerned with the previous knowledge, 86.7% had previous knowledge of pre-menstrual syndrome, and 13.3% do not have previous knowledge of pre-menstrual syndrome.

Also, 46.7% had poor knowledge, 53.3% had average knowledge and none of them had good knowledge.

Additionally, it was found that there is no significant association between level of knowledge and selected socio-personal variables such as age, age of menarche, religion, family income, exercise pattern, intake of junk food, body weight, family history of PMS previous knowledge and source of information. But there is a significant association between level of knowledge and daily intake of water.

CONCLUSION:

The present study reveals that of 60 adolescent girls, none of them had good knowledge regarding premenstrual syndrome, 53.3% had average knowledge, and only 46.7% had poor knowledge. The study found that there is no significant association between the level of knowledge and selected socio-personal variables such as age, age of menarche, religion, family income, exercise pattern, intake of junk food, body weight, family history of PMS, previous knowledge, and source of information. Also, while analyzing, it was found that there is a significant association between the level of knowledge and the daily intake of water.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. A similar study can be replicated in a larger setting

2. Awareness programs and health education programs can be conducted regarding pre-menstrual syndrome.

3. The present study can be conducted as an interventional study providing a structured teaching program and self-instructional modules.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

We express our gratitude and thanks to all who have directly or indirectly helped to complete this study, and for their support in each major step of the study.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:

Nil.

ETHICAL CLEARANCE:

Obtained permission from the Institutional Ethical Clearance Committee confidentiality of subjects was ensured.

REFERENCES:

1. M D Wheeler. Physical changes of puberty, Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 1991. 1: 1-14 (https;//pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

2. Premenstrual Syndrome Lori M Dickerson, Pamela J Mazyck, Melissa H Hunter American Family Physician. 2003; 67(8): 1743-1752,

3. Sabrina Hofmeister et al. Premenstrual Syndrome and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. Journal of American Family Physician. 2016 Aug 1; 94(3): 236-240.

4. Nazeema Beevi P. Menstrual problems among adolescent girls, International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health. 2017. cited from URL: www.researchgate.net

5. Karapagavalli G, Raj Rani. A study to assess of Premenstrual syndrome on Quality of Life among College Students at Chennai, International Journal of Health Science and Research. 10(6): 110-115(www.ijhsr.org)

6. Nattapong Buddhabunyakan et al. Premenstrual syndrome among high school students. International Journal of Women’s Health. 2017. cited from URL: https;//pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Received on 30.05.2025 Revised on 26.06.2025

Accepted on 14.07.2025 Published on 18.08.2025

Available online from August 27, 2025

A and V Pub J. of Nursing and Medical Res. 2025;4(3):81-84.

DOI: 10.52711/jnmr.2025.20

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