Gynecological problems of adolescent girls attending to rural tertiary care centre

Authors

  • Suman Shivanagouda Patil Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Kolar, Karnataka, India
  • Hemalatha Mahanthshetty Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Kolar, Karnataka, India
  • Supriya H. M. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Kolar, Karnataka, India
  • Mahendra M. Department of Community Medicine, Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Kolar, Karnataka, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20192606

Keywords:

Adolescents, Gynecological problems

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a transient and dynamic period between childhood and adulthood, characterised by several changes in the body and the child’s mind. The World Health Organization defines adolescents as young people aged 10-19 years, but changes may begin before and continue after this age group. Adolescents constitute over 21.4% of population in India. Adolescence is a period of enormous physical and psychological change for young girls. Hormonal events play a key role in this transition. One of the major physiological changes that take place in adolescent girls is the onset of menarche, which is often associated with problems of irregular menstruation, excessive bleeding and dysmenorrhea. The aim of this study was to determine the proportion of various gynecological problems among adolescent girls seeking care at a tertiary care centre, Kolar, Karnataka, India.

Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted during March 2016 to March 2018 among all adolescent girls (10-19 years) with gynecological problems attending inpatient and outpatient Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information regarding their socio-demographic characteristics, gynecological history, family history, obstetric history, documentation of general physical examination and other investigations. Data entered using Microsoft Excel and analysed using SPSS v20.

Results: A total of 720 adolescent girls sought care for gynecological problems in the study period with more than 80% of the cases belonging to the age group between 15 and 19 years. Of the 720, 362 (49.8%) had some type of menstrual disorders. Of these 362 cases about 41 of them were a case of puberty menorrhagia (11.32%) and 89 cases were of dysmenorrhea (22.37%). Among 720 cases, 290 (40.2%) of them were diagnosed of teenage pregnancy; among which 34 of them were unwanted pregnancy. Other presentations include vaginal discharge, urinary tract infection, mass per abdomen, trauma to genital tract and turners syndrome (two cases).

Conclusions: The study shows around half of the adolescent girls are having menstrual disorders. One third were teenage pregnancies with most of them been ‘wanted’. This alarming finding calls for strengthening of adolescent programme with targeted health education and behavioural change. Setting up a separate adolescent clinics is necessary for efficient management of menstrual disorders in adolescents.

References

Creatsas G. Adolescent gynecology and obstetrics. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Bio. 1995;58(2):107-9.

Kumari A, Enclave A, Marg M, Colony BH. Adolescent gynaecological problems: a clinical study. J Evolut Med Dent Sci. 2013;2(9):1113.

Rathod AD, Chavan RP, Pajai SP, Bhagat V, Thoo P. Gynecological problems of adolescent girls attending outpatient department at tertiary care center with evaluation of cases of puberty menorrhagia requiring hospitalization. J Obstet Gynaecol India. 2016;66(Suppl 1):400-6.

Daftary SN, Patki A. Reproductive endocrinology and infertility, principles and clinical practice, New Delhi. BI Publications, chapter 5, Puberty: Pediatric and Adolescent gynecology; 2009:44.

Karki C, Shrestha NS. Gynecological disorders of adolescent girls at Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital. NJOG. 2008;3(2):44-7.

Agarwal AK, Agarwal A. A study of dysmenorhea during mestruation in adolescent girls. Indian J Community Med. 2010;35(1):159-60.

Goswami P, Ahirwar G. Adolescent gynecological problems:a prospective study. J Evolut Med Dental Sci. 2015;4(102):16709-12.

Thaker RV, Madiya AB, Chaudhari HD, Maru JD, Baranda SB. Health profile of adolescent girls visiting obstetrics and gynecology department of tertiary care hospital. Available at; http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog2018 45 298.

Sebanti G, Dutta R, Sebani S. A profile of adolescent girls with gynaecological problems. J Obste Gynaecol Ind. 2005;55(4):353-5.

Sheela WG, Chellatamizh M, Mohanamba M, Vijayalakshmi P. Adolescent gynaecology problems in rural South India: a review of hospital admission in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Ammapettai, Tamil Nadu, India. Available at; http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20171 949.

Bhalerao-Gandhi A, Vaidiya R, Bandi F. Managing gynaecological problems in indian adolescent girls- a challenge of 21st century. Obstet Gynecol Int J. 2015;3(1):70.

Downloads

Published

2019-06-29

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles