BACKGROUND
Abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) is one of the most common gynecologic complaints among reproductive-age women. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of AUB and its related factors among reproductive age Iranian women.
METHODS
A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 1393 women aged 15 - 45 years who participated in the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study in 2009 - 2012. FIGO terminology and previous definitions were used for classification of AUB. Logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals to check the association between AUB and the women's demographic characteristics. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS
A total of 35.8% (95% CI: 31.5% - 40.2%) of the participants suffered from one or more types of AUB. About 10.6% (95% CI: 6.3% - 12.5%) of them had disturbances of regularity and 23.8% (95% CI: 18.4% - 26.1%) reported experiencing disturbances of frequency. Also, disturbances of heaviness of flow and duration of flow were reported in 16% (95% CI: 12.7% - 19.2%) and 11.5% (95% CI: 8% - 15.4%), respectively. About 4.3% of the women (95% CI: 2.1% - 10.5%) reported irregular non-menstrual bleeding. According to previous definitions, the prevalence of heavy periods, metrorrhagia, polymenorrhea, oligomenorrhea, amenorrhea and inter-menstrual bleeding in reproductive aged women was 15.2%, 18.9%, 10.6%, 15.2%, 2.2%, and 4.3%, respectively. In addition, the proportions of women with AUB rose in the early and late reproductive years. After adjustment of confounders, logistic regression analysis showed that age (adjusted OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.07 - 3.97, P = 0.03) and BMI (adjusted OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.02 - 3.04, P = 0.04) had statistically significant associations with AUB.
CONCLUSION
The prevalence of AUB as a possible clinical indicator of underlying disorders was high among Iranian reproductive age women. Healthcare providers and policy makers are required to acknowledge these disorders and provide education and counseling opportunities for the public to inform them when and how to seek medical advice.