PERSONALITY, SEXUAL-BEHAVIOR AND MENSTRUAL SYMPTOMS - THEIR RELEVANCE TO CLINICALLY PRESENTING WITH MENORRHAGIA

Twenty-two women, who clinically presented as menorrhagic, were matched with 22 controls for age, marital status, religion, location, socio-economic class, and parity and their menstrual blood loss (MBL) objectively measured. The menorrhagic women were significantly distinguished from matched controls by greater frequency and severity of menstrual symptomatology, more negative attitudes to sexual behaviour, non-reporting of masturbatory practice, and an over-controlled, introverted, emotionally stable and conforming personality. These characteristics did not, however, significantly distinguish objectively menorrhagic (OM) women (those with an MBL of 80 ml and plus) from subjectively menorrhagic (SM) women (those with an MBL of <80 ml). The inability to distinguish OM and SM women was related to their similar personality characteristics and the difficulty in determining primary and secondary aetiologies among symptoms, attitudes and behaviours. While mean MBL significantly differed clinically presenting women from matched controls, 55% of the clinically presenting women were not objectively menorrhagic. These findings have implications for medical practice. Diagnosis of menorrhagia should not be made on the self-statement of patients alone nor on reported menstrual symptomatology but ONLY on the basis of objective measurement of MBL. © 1990.