AUTHOR=Andualem Fantahun , Melkam Mamaru , Takelle Girmaw Medfu , Nakie Girum , Tinsae Techilo , Fentahun Setegn , Rtbey Gidey , Seid Jemal , Gedef Getachew Muluye , Bitew Desalegn Anmut , Godana Tilahun Nega 

TITLE=Prevalence of premenstrual syndrome and its associated factors in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 15 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1338304

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1338304

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=Background: Clinical research and epidemiological studies have shown that many women experience physical and emotionalbehavioral symptoms that begin during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and terminate around the onset of menses; this is called premenstrual syndrome.The reviews stated that the pooled prevalence of premenstrual syndrome was around 50 percent.However, there has been no review done on premenstrual syndrome in Africa. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to summarizesummarise the most recent availabledata evidence on reproductive age womenthe pooled prevalence of premenstrual syndrome and its pooled effect of associated factors in Africa.We used an appropriate guideline for systematic reviews and meta-analyses reports, which is the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). This review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023414021). The publications were identified from PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, Scopus databases, and other grey searches. The included papers were the original data that reported the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome and associated factors published, in English, and papers available online from January 1, 2000, to May 30, 2023. The data was extracted in Microsoft Excel, and then it willwould be imported into STATA 11.0 for analysis.We have included 16 studies conducted in African countries with 6530 study participants.In this meta-analysis, the pooled prevalence of premenstrual syndrome among the reproductiveage participants in Africa was 46.98 (95% CI: 28.9-65.06%). Further, in subgroup analysis, the pooled prevalence of premenstrual syndrome was 57.32% in Nigeria, 43.8% in Ethiopia, and 38.6% among university students and 66.04% among secondary school students. Among associated factors, the early age of menarche was significantly related to premenstrual syndrome.In this review, the pooled prevalence of premenstrual syndrome in Africa was high.Among factors, the early age of menarche was a risk factor for premenstrual syndrome. This finding might help the stakeholders (mental health policy makers, administrators, and mental health professionals) to address prevention, early screening, and management of PMS among reproductive-age women, and to give attention to more vulnerable bodies.