Tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages worldwide after water, and green tea accounts for 20% of the total tea consumption. The health benefits of green tea are attributed to its natural antioxidants, namely, catechins, which are phenolic compounds with diverse beneficial effects on human health. The beneficial effects of green tea and its major bioactive component, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), on health include high antioxidative, osteoprotective, neuroprotective, anti-cancer, anti-hyperlipidemia and anti-diabetic effects. However, the review of green tea's benefits on female reproductive disorders, including polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis and dysmenorrhea, remains scarce. Thus, this review summarises current knowledge on the beneficial effects of green tea catechins on selected female reproductive disorders. Green tea or its derivative, EGCG, improves endometriosis mainly through anti-angiogenic, anti-fibrotic, anti-proliferative and proapoptotic mechanisms. Moreover, green tea enhances ovulation and reduces cyst formation in PCOS while improving generalised hyperalgesia, and reduces plasma corticosterone levels and uterine contractility in dysmenorrhea. However, information on clinical trials is inadequate for translating excellent findings on green tea benefits in animal endometriosis models. Thus, future clinical intervention studies are needed to provide clear evidence of the green tea benefits with regard to these diseases.
Objective: To investigate the prevalence of genital arousal disorder and the potential risk
factors that may impair genital arousal among women at a primary care setting in Malaysia.
Methods: A validated questionnaire for sexual function was used to assess genital arousal
function. A total of 230 married women aged 18–70 years old participated in this study. Their sociodemographic and marital profiles were compared between those who had genital arousal disorder and those who did not. The risk factors were examined. Results: The prevalence of genital arousal disorder in the primary care population was 50.4% (116/230). Women with genital arousal disorder were found to be significantly higher in groups of more than 45 years old (p55) (p=.001), those having 4 children or more (p=.028), those having less sexual intercourse (less than 1–2 times a week) (p=.001), and those at post-menopausal state (p=.002). There was no significant difference between these two groups in term of salary (p=.29), suffering from medical problems (p=.32), dysmenorrhea (p=.95), menarche (p=.5) and hormonal replacement therapy (p=.6). Conclusion: Women with infrequent sexual intercourse are less likely to be sexually aroused (OR=0.29, 95% CI: 0.11-0.74).
Dysmenorrhoea is painful menstruation that occurs in 45-72% of all women. This was a prospective randomised study of the efficacy of etoricoxib (Arcoxia) compared with mefenamic acid (Ponstan) in treating primary dysmenorrhoea. All single, sexually inactive women with primary dysmenorrhoea were randomised into two groups (mefenamic acid and etoricoxib) of pain relief and underwent a cross-over study. The success of treatment as evidenced by pain relief, the side-effects and complications were observed and analysed. Some 80% (20 women) had significantly better pain relief with etoricoxib, compared with only 20 per cent in the mefenamic acid group (p = 0.007). Etoricoxib has significantly fewer side-effects compared with mefenamic acid (p = 0.005) with significantly reduced menstrual blood loss (p = 0.025). In conclusion, etoricoxib is a better treatment for primary dysmenorrhoea with better pain relief, less menstrual blood loss and fewer side-effects compared with mefenamic acid.
The onset of menstruation is part of the maturation process. However, variability in menstrual cycle characteristics and menstrual disorders are common. The purpose of this study was to determine the menstrual characteristics of adolescent females and factors associated with it.
To describe the prevalence of menopausal symptoms, define the mean age of menopause, and determine contributory factors, which influence the experience of symptoms among Singaporean women of different racial groups.
Background The objective was to compare the effectiveness and tolerability of mefenamic acid and celecoxib in women with primary dysmenorrhea (PD) and to compare the quality of life of study participants pre- and post-treatment. Materials and methods This was a randomized crossover clinical trial conducted among sexually inactive female adults aged 18-25 years with PD. Participants were asked to rate their pain score and answer a validated quality of life questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L) before and after consumption of each medication in two menstrual cycles. The effectiveness of celecoxib and mefenamic acid in treating PD was compared with regard to reduction in pain score and the need for medical leave and rescue therapy. Drug tolerability was determined by comparing the occurrence of side effects of both drugs. Quality of life scores pre- and post-intervention were measured and compared. Results Mefenamic acid had a comparable effect to celecoxib in relieving symptoms of PD. Both drugs were equally tolerable and showed similar impacts on quality of life. Conclusions This study demonstrated that mefenamic acid and celecoxib had similar effectiveness in improving pain score and quality of life in women with PD.
Introduction: Dysmenorrhoea is the most common gynaecology problems female’s goes through in their life. In Malaysia, the overall prevalence of dysmenorrhoea is 78%. There were studies revealed that there is significant asso- ciation between dysmenorrhoea and quality of life (QoL). Female who is having dysmenorrhoea has a lower quality of life compared to others. However, most female ignore this issue as they feel it is a normal female phenomenon. Nevertheless, health education and interventions should be given to reduce dysmenorrhoea, thus improve QoL. The main aim of this research was to determine the menstrual characteristics, primary dysmenorrhoea, and their associa- tion with selected socio-demographic variables among Chinese undergraduate students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 317 participants, aged between 19 to 25 years. Purposive sampling method was uti- lized to recruit the participants. Questionnaire on menstruationwas distributed to collect the information regarding socio-demographic background, menstrual characteristics, and primary dysmenorrhoea. Results: The incidences of primary dysmenorrhoea were reported by 63.4% (n=201)in this study. Only a few socio-demographic variableswere detected to have a significant association with menstrual characteristics and primary dysmenorrhoea. Associations between age and menstrual duration was discovered (p=0.005). Besides, menarche was associated with presence of blood clot during menstruation (P
STUDY OBJECTIVE: No studies have specifically considered paternal understanding of menstruation. This study aimed to establish the degree of understanding of fathers of adolescent girls with menstrual symptoms relative to mothers.
DESIGN AND SETTING: This was a cross-sectional survey-based study. Adolescent patients attending an outpatient gynecology clinic for dysmenorrhea and/or heavy menstrual bleeding and their parents were invited to complete surveys.
PARTICIPANTS: Sixty surveys were completed (24 of 40 daughters, 20 of 40 mothers, 16 of 40 fathers).
INTERVENTIONS AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Surveys aimed to test parents' understanding of menstrual symptoms and potential medications, as well as fathers' concerns with their daughters' health.
RESULTS: The fathers' knowledge of menstrual symptoms was poorer than mothers, although most knew heavy menstrual bleeding (15/16, 94%) and mood swings (14/16, 87%). Many parents answered "don't know" or did not answer questions about potential consequences of medications, although parents were clearly concerned about side effects. Most fathers (13/16, 81%) were open to discussing menstrual concerns with daughters; however, only 54% (13/24) of daughters were open to such discussions. Of fathers, 81% (13/16) were sympathetic/concerned, 56% (9/16) felt helpless, and 13% (2/16) were frustrated when daughters were in pain. When asked about effects, 88% (14/16) of fathers (79% [15/20] of mothers) were worried about their daughter's welfare and 63% (10/16) (55% [11/20] of mothers) about schooling.
CONCLUSION: We present, to our knowledge, the first insight into fathers' knowledge of their daughters' menstrual health. Overall, parents have an incomplete picture of menstrual symptoms. Even in this cohort, which could be expected to be well informed because of their daughters' attendance at a tertiary hospital, it is clear that further knowledge would assist them caring for their daughters.
Study site: Adolescent Gynaecology Outpatient Clinic, Royal Children’s Hospital, Victoria, Australia