General temperament and uterine temperament in patients with primary dysmenorrhea

Primary dysmenorrhea is painful menstrual cramps without a pathological cause which is more common in reproductive age. According to Persian medicine, the cause of primary dysmenorrhea can be changes in Mizaj (Temperament). This study was performed aimed to evaluate the general temperament and uterine temperament of patients with primary dysmenorrhea.

This descriptive-analytical case series study was performed on 104 female students with primary dysmenorrhea living in the dormitories of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences of Tehran in 2015-2016. The questionnaire of personal information, general temperament and uterine temperament was completed by the researcher and the frequency of general temperament and uterine temperament was evaluated. Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 17). Quantitative variables were expressed with mean and standard deviation and frequency of qualitative variables with number and percentage.

The total age range of the samples was 19 to 43 years with a mean of 23.03 ± 3.91 and the mean body mass index of the participants was 22.22 ± 3.06 kg/m2.The results showed that the highest frequency of general temperament in all patients with primary dysmenorrhea was moderate (47.1%) and dry (39.4%). The highest frequency of uterine temperament in all patients with primary dysmenorrhea was cold (91.3%) and wet (73.1%).

According to the results of this study, the highest frequency of general temperament in patients with primary dysmenorrhea was moderate and dry and considering the higher prevalence of cold and wet temperament in the uterus of women with primary dysmenorrhea, it can be said that the presence of this type of distemperament in women can be a predictor of primary dysmenorrhea. Also, by using preventive and therapeutic measures of this distemperament based on traditional medicine texts, it is possible to treat primary dysmenorrhea with a new approach.