Oral Symptoms during Pre-menstrual Syndrome, a Cross-Sectional Study in Women of Twin Cities, Pakistan

Abstract

Objective: Distressing behavioural, physical and psychological symptoms occurring before the onset of
menstruation in the absence of pathological disease are referred to as premenstrual syndrome (PMS). While a
handful of studies have documented ulceration, hypo salivation, taste alterations and gingivitis as oral
symptoms associated with PMS, the literature is generally deficient in this regard. Therefore, this
investigation aimed to document oral symptoms present during the premenstrual phase in the Pakistani
female population.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 435 consenting females who were
recruited through convenience sampling to provide information about their age, regularity of their menstrual
cycle and presence of unusual oral symptoms. Data was entered and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics,
Version 22.0. Chi-square test, Phi and Cramer's V were applied to determine statistical associations between
age groups, menstrual patterns and the presence of oral symptoms.

Results: Fifty-one (11.7%) participants suffered from a burning sensation, 74 (17%) experienced a tingling
sensation, 110 (25.3%) had taste alteration, 130 (29.9%) complained about hypo salivation while 14 (3.2%)
reported hypersalivation.80 (18.4%) individuals reported a feeling of swelling in the mouth and 11 (2.5%)
had gingivitis. No significant association was found between the irregularity of the menstrual pattern and the
oral symptoms, while a weak association was found between the age groups, salivary flow rate and a feeling
of swelling.

Conclusion: Taste alterations, hypo salivation, feeling of swelling, tingling and burning sensations were the
commonly reported oral symptoms. Age appears to have a weak association with the presence of some oral
symptoms.