Background and Aim: Dysmenorrhea is one of the most common gynecological disorders in the world. The current study aims to know the prevalence of dysmenorrhea and its management practices among adolescent girls. The study also aim to assess predictors of dysmenorrhea treatment options.

Materials and Methods: This institutional-based cross-sectional study was carried out at Obstetrics & Gynaecology department of Mardan Women Hospital, Sheikh Maltoon Town Mardan and Jinnah International Hospital, Abbottabad from June 2020 to November 2020. Pretested self-administrated and a semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection from volunteer adolescent girls to take part in this study. The outcome and exposure variables association was evaluated through a multi regression model and chi-square test. Dysmenorrhea risk was reported by taking the odds ratio at a confidence interval of 95%. SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis and statistical significance was considered at p<0.05.

Results: Of the total 680 questionnaires, 601 (88.4%) were completed. The response rate and dysmenorrhea prevalence were 88.4% and 53.3% respectively. The mean age of the adolescents was 16.3 ± 1.92. While mean age for Menarche was 12.41 ± 1.62. A significant difference (t= 5.78, p< 0.001) between dysmenorrhea and non-dysmenorrhea age girls was (16.81 ±1.98) and (12.56 ± 1.65) respectively. The common symptom of waist pain among participants was (345, 57.4%). The prevalence of participants taking Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs for menstrual symptoms was 191 (31.8%). Dysmenorrhea’s severity and age were the two significant predictors for the prospect of taking a dysmenorrhea pharmacological agent.

Conclusion: Our study concluded that a higher prevalence of dysmenorrhea was observed among adolescents compared to Menarche which adversely affects the routine major activities. A significant association between self-reported dysmenorrhea and the abnormal menstrual cycle was found. Adolescents must be educated early on about the safety and efficacy of various dysmenorrhea management options.

Keywords: Dysmenorrhea, Adolescence, Menarche.