Effectiveness of zinc supplementation in treating dysmenorrhea

Background: Dysmenorrhea has a high prevalence among women, especially in young women. Zinc has been proved to have a beneficial effect in treating pain. The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of zinc supplementation in treating dysmenorrhoeal pain. Method: This is an experimental study, using pre and post-test design. The study participants were medical staffs of H. Adam Malik Hospital and other satellite hospitals. This study was conducted on March 2016 to June 2016. Thirty seven patients with moderate to severe primary menstrual pain were given 30 mg of zinc per day (divided into two doses), 2 days prior to menstruation until its cessation, for two to three months. The pain was assessed with the visual analog scale (VAS). Results: The mean age of participants was 22.95±1.33 years old and the mean body weight, height, and body mass index were 55.54 ± 9.36 kg, 160.16 ± 5.46 cm, 22.02 ± 3.44 kg/m2, respectively. The mean pain score is higher prior to zinc supplementation (4.92 ± 1.80; moderate pain) and the score decreased over three months of zinc supplementation, resulting in a mean score of 2.7 ± 2.03 (moderate pain). The differences were found to be statistically significant (p = 0.000). Conclusion: Dysmenorrhea is frequently found in young women. Two to three months of zinc supplementation during menstruation is proved to be useful in reducing the intensity of dysmenorrheal pain.