Global Research Update #14

Nurkhairulnisa AI et al. (2018) in a questionnaire -based study of 123 parents/guardians from both public forum held in May 2012 and adolescent gynaecology or paediatric psychiatry clinic at the University of Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre: Management of Menstrual Disorder in Adolescent Girls with Intellectual Disabilities: A Blessing or a Curse? with the aims of describing the menstrual pattern and menstrual care of girls with intellectual disabilities and evaluating the impact of menstruation and awareness of parents/guardians on girls with intellectual disabilities. The study found that girls with intellectual disability attained menarche at a mean age of 11.12 ± 1.76 years, and the majority (54.1%) of girls had regular menses, and 50.5% had mild dysmenorrhea, 24.3% experienced moderate dysmenorrhea, and 25.2% had no dysmenorrhea. The results also showed that participants with lower family income were significantly more aware of getting help regarding menstrual suppression compared to the higher family income group, and respondents with girls who had moderate severity and who were unable to manage her menses tended to seek medical help on menstrual suppression (a way of using certain types of hormonal birth control to avoid having monthly bleeding).  Moreover, participants from lower family income group who were concerned about sexual abuse requested for sterilization for their daughter. The findings also revealed that more than half of the parents had not sought medical help on menstrual management for their daughters; only 21.6% of them shared their concerns and worries with their friends, teachers, relatives, and doctors.