Social jetlag and menstrual symptoms among female university students

ABSTRACTMenstrual symptoms may have a significant impact on women’s lives. Many women experience menses-related health problems, such as menstrual pain, heavy menstrual bleeding, and premenstrual syndrome, during their reproductively fertile years. Circadian misalignment in shift workers has been reported to contribute to menstrual cycle irregularity and/or painful menstruation. However, the relationship between social jetlag (SJL) and menstrual symptoms/menstrual cycle has not been elucidated. In this study, we aimed to elucidate this relationship among female university students. One-hundred and fifty female university students (mean [SD]: 18.8 [0.71]-years old) completed self-reported questionnaires consisting of menstrual symptoms and menstrual cycle, sleep quality and sleep habits, quality of life, and demographic variables. The average menstrual cycle was 32.0 [5.4] days. The percentage of students who showed menstrual cycle irregularity, having less than 25 days or more than 39 days of menstrual cy...