(047) Complementary and integrative health modalities to prevent utilization of allopathic medications for dysmenorrhea: A prospective interventional study

Publication Number: 710

Background: Women with dysmenorrhea experience gynaecological issues that interfere with their daily activities. The common use of analgesics, antispasmodics, and over-the-counter drugs for dysmenorrhea can have negative impacts.

Objectives: The study aims to assess the utilization of complementary and integrative medicine to prevent use of allopathic medications for dysmenorrhea.

Methods: This is a prospective interventional study carried out in Bangalore for 6 months from January 2022 to June 2022. Women in the reproductive age of 18 to 45 years were included in the study. Pregnant, lactating and menopausal women, participants with blood disorders and severe pain were excluded from the study. The data was collected using convenience sampling method through data collection form. Participants were educated on complementary and integrative health modalities for alleviating menstrual pain. The Verbal Rating Scale (VRS) for Pain Assessment was used to assess the degree of pain. The data was collected using WHOQOL BREF questionnaire to assess the quality of life (QOL) at baseline and after two months. The data was coded and analyzed using IBM SPSS statistic version 22.0 for windows. Paired t test was used to compare the different WHOQOL dimensions and McNemars Bowkers test was applied to measure the pain intensity.

Results: A total of 323 participants were included in the study. Among 323 participants, 281 (87%) had dysmenorrhea. The age of the participants was between 18 to 45 years. Among the 281 participants, 184(65.48%) reported taking allopathic drugs to treat dysmenorrhea. However, after counselling about complementary and integrative modalities, it dropped to 58(20.64%). Pain levels decreased from moderate 186(66.19%) to mild 262(93.23%). Almost 40(12.4%) participants reported adverse effects with allopathic medications. The most commonly reported adverse effects were constipation 24(13.04%), nausea and vomiting 22(11.95%), diarrhea 21(11.41%) and acid reflux 20(10.86%). McNemar-Bowker test revealed that the complementary and integrative health modalities were significantly associated indicating higher reduction in pain severity with the p value < 0.001. Complementary and integrative health modalities improved the QOL among participants which showed a significance with p< 0.005.

Conclusions: The study concluded that complementary and integrative health modalities helped to prevent utilization of allopathic medications for the treatment of dysmenorrhea and enhanced the quality of life of the participants. Awareness should be created among women to avert the usage of allopathic medicines to minimize the occurrence of side effects.