Menstrual Disorder in Morbid Obese Patients, Compared to Normal-weighted Controls

Background: The present study aimed to evaluate the association between menstrual cycle disorders and obesity in Iranian women. Methods and Materials: In the present case-control study, 405 obese women of reproductive age who were referred to the Obesity Clinic of Minimally Invasive Surgery Research Center, Rasoul-e-Akram Hospital, in Tehran City, Iran between Jan 2013 and Oct 2015 were included as the case group. Moreover, they were compared with a control healthy-weight group, selected from their family members (n=293). Menstrual cycle characteristics were documented in a researcher-designed checklist. All statistical analyses were performed in SPSS and STATA. Results: In the case group, 47(11.6%) women had irregular menstrual cycles, while it existed in 22(7.5%) members of the control group (P 0.001). The prevalence of different menstrual disorders was as follows: polymenorrhea 107(26.4%) in the cases and 51(17.4%) in the controls (P 0.001); oligomenorrhea 22(5.4%) in the cases and 16(5.5%) in the controls (P 0.001). Conclusion: The present study results indicated that morbid obesity increases the risk of menstrual irregularities and dysmenorrhea; therefore, it is essential to pay greater attention to this issue in morbidly obese patients for the proper management of this disturbing comorbidity.