Prevalence of menstrual pain and symptoms and their association with age and BMI among Japanese female app users
Abstract Menstruation plays a crucial role in women’s health, with age and BMI potentially influencing menstrual pain and associated symptoms. This cross-sectional study analyzed data from Japanese female Sofy app users aged 12–51 years, collected between March 4, 2021, and August 17, 2023. After ex...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02459-0 |
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| author | Shuxian Liu Daisuke Yoneoka Hitomi Suzuki Kiriko Sasayama Eiko Saito Yuna Naraoka Momo Hosokawa Ataru Igarashi Erika Ota |
| author_facet | Shuxian Liu Daisuke Yoneoka Hitomi Suzuki Kiriko Sasayama Eiko Saito Yuna Naraoka Momo Hosokawa Ataru Igarashi Erika Ota |
| author_sort | Shuxian Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Menstruation plays a crucial role in women’s health, with age and BMI potentially influencing menstrual pain and associated symptoms. This cross-sectional study analyzed data from Japanese female Sofy app users aged 12–51 years, collected between March 4, 2021, and August 17, 2023. After excluding duplicate and incomplete responses, as well as participants using contraceptives or painkillers, a total of 32,556 valid responses were included. Among the participants, 66.83% reported experiencing menstrual pain, with 28.33% describing it as mild, 25.13% as moderate, and 13.31% as severe. The average number of symptoms reported was 3.36, including 2.43 physical and 0.82 emotional symptoms. Abdominal pain and depression were the most common physical and emotional symptoms, respectively. Menstrual pain and the number of symptoms exhibited an inverted U-shaped relationship with age, peaking slightly earlier in life, and a U-shaped relationship with BMI. Participants in the normal BMI range reported the lowest prevalence of menstrual pain, while those who were underweight had the highest prevalence. Generalized Additive Models (GAM) revealed significant interactions between age and BMI for both menstrual pain and the number of symptoms (p < 0.0001). These findings revealed the age-related inverted U-shape and BMI-related U-shape patterns across all outcomes. Menstrual pain prevalence peaked around the mid-twenties, and symptoms decreased as BMI approached the normal range. The findings provide valuable insights into identifying high-risk groups and informing the development of targeted interventions to improve women’s health. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-67d0c55626cc4976952ae0d3ace2fdc8 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-67d0c55626cc4976952ae0d3ace2fdc82025-08-20T02:00:00ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-05-0115111310.1038/s41598-025-02459-0Prevalence of menstrual pain and symptoms and their association with age and BMI among Japanese female app usersShuxian Liu0Daisuke Yoneoka1Hitomi Suzuki2Kiriko Sasayama3Eiko Saito4Yuna Naraoka5Momo Hosokawa6Ataru Igarashi7Erika Ota8Global Health Nursing, Graduate School of Nursing Science, St. Luke’s International UniversityCenter for Surveillance, Immunization, and Epidemiologic Research, National Institute of Infectious DiseasesInternational Healthcare and Midwifery, Graduate School of Nursing, Japanese Red Cross College of NursingSustainable Society Design Center, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of TokyoSustainable Society Design Center, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of TokyoGraduate School of Medicine, Intractable Disease Research Center, Juntendo UniversityGeneral Incorporated Association LuvtelliDepartment of Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of TokyoGlobal Health Nursing, Graduate School of Nursing Science, St. Luke’s International UniversityAbstract Menstruation plays a crucial role in women’s health, with age and BMI potentially influencing menstrual pain and associated symptoms. This cross-sectional study analyzed data from Japanese female Sofy app users aged 12–51 years, collected between March 4, 2021, and August 17, 2023. After excluding duplicate and incomplete responses, as well as participants using contraceptives or painkillers, a total of 32,556 valid responses were included. Among the participants, 66.83% reported experiencing menstrual pain, with 28.33% describing it as mild, 25.13% as moderate, and 13.31% as severe. The average number of symptoms reported was 3.36, including 2.43 physical and 0.82 emotional symptoms. Abdominal pain and depression were the most common physical and emotional symptoms, respectively. Menstrual pain and the number of symptoms exhibited an inverted U-shaped relationship with age, peaking slightly earlier in life, and a U-shaped relationship with BMI. Participants in the normal BMI range reported the lowest prevalence of menstrual pain, while those who were underweight had the highest prevalence. Generalized Additive Models (GAM) revealed significant interactions between age and BMI for both menstrual pain and the number of symptoms (p < 0.0001). These findings revealed the age-related inverted U-shape and BMI-related U-shape patterns across all outcomes. Menstrual pain prevalence peaked around the mid-twenties, and symptoms decreased as BMI approached the normal range. The findings provide valuable insights into identifying high-risk groups and informing the development of targeted interventions to improve women’s health.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02459-0 |
| spellingShingle | Shuxian Liu Daisuke Yoneoka Hitomi Suzuki Kiriko Sasayama Eiko Saito Yuna Naraoka Momo Hosokawa Ataru Igarashi Erika Ota Prevalence of menstrual pain and symptoms and their association with age and BMI among Japanese female app users Scientific Reports |
| title | Prevalence of menstrual pain and symptoms and their association with age and BMI among Japanese female app users |
| title_full | Prevalence of menstrual pain and symptoms and their association with age and BMI among Japanese female app users |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence of menstrual pain and symptoms and their association with age and BMI among Japanese female app users |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence of menstrual pain and symptoms and their association with age and BMI among Japanese female app users |
| title_short | Prevalence of menstrual pain and symptoms and their association with age and BMI among Japanese female app users |
| title_sort | prevalence of menstrual pain and symptoms and their association with age and bmi among japanese female app users |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02459-0 |
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