Menstrual patterns and disorders among secondary school adolescents in Egypt. A cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: To our knowledge, no large population - based studies have been performed on the topic of menstrual patterns among Egyptian adolescent in recent years. The aims of this study were to identify menstrual patterns and associated disorders as well as the sources of menstrual health knowledge among Egyptian adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey. A total of 800 questionnaires were administered to post-menarcheal Egyptian adolescents attending secondary schools in Giza, Egypt, from September 1, 2012, to December 1, 2013. Participants were asked to respond to a semi-structured questionnaire on menstrual health awareness. The questionnaire included items on girl's socio-demographic and menstrual pattern characteristics, concerning their age at menarche, menstrual cycle length and regularity, duration and amount of flow, type and severity of pain related to menstruation, need for analgesia; and symptoms suggestive of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) Main Outcome Measure: description of menstrual patterns, disorders and source of knowledge. RESULTS: Four hundred twelve (51.5 %) out of 800 adolescents completed the questionnaire. The mean age of the girls was 14.67 ± 1.7 years. Mean age at menarche was 12.49 ± 1.20 years. 382 respondents reported various menstrual disorders, giving a prevalence rate of 95 %. Dysmenorrhea was the most prevalent (93 %) menstrual disorder in our sample, followed by PMS (65 %), and abnormal cycle lengths (43 %). Menstrual disorders interfered with social and academic life of 33 and 7.7 % of respondents respectively. Most participants lacked menstrual health knowledge and only 8.9 % of girls reported consulting a physician. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the largest studies on menstrual pattern and disorders among Egyptian adolescent girls. Our Findings of the present study are consistent with other studies and reported higher than expected prevalence of menstrual disorders.

Screening for Chlamydia trachomatis in Egyptian women with unexplained infertility, comparing real-time PCR techniques to standard serology tests: case control study.

BACKGROUND: To study the prevalence of Chlamydia infection in women with primary and secondary unexplained infertility using ELISA technique for antibody detection and real time, fully automated PCR for antigen detection and to explore its association with circulating antisperm antibodies (ASA). METHODS: A total of 50 women with unexplained infertility enrolled in this case control study and a control group of 44 infertile women with a known cause of infertility. Endocervical specimens were collected for Chlamydia antigen detection using PCR and serum samples for antibodies detection. Circulating anti-sperm antibodies were detected using sperm antibody Latex Agglutination tests. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of Chlamydial infection in unexplained infertility cases as detected by both ELISA and PCR was 40 % (20/50). The prevalence of current Chlamydial genital infection as detected by real-time PCR was only 6.0 % (3/50); two of which were also IgM positive. Prevalence of ASA was 6.0 % (3/50); all were sero-negative for anti-C.trachomatis IgM and were PCR negative. CONCLUSION: The incidence of Chlamydial infection in Egyptian patients with unexplained infertility is relatively high. In the setting of fertility investigations; screening for anti. C.trachomatis antibodies using ELISA, and treatment of positive cases should be considered. The presence of circulating ASA does not correlate with the presence of old or current Chlamydia infection in women with unexplained infertility.