Role of hormonal and demographic factors in the development of dysmenorrhea in young women

Abstract

Background. Primary dysmenorrhea has a multifactorial aetiology involving inflammatory, nutritional, hormonal, somatic, psychoemotional, and genetic factors. The purpose of the study was to determine the hormonal, anthropometric, and clinical characteristics of primary dysmenorrhea among adolescent girls of the Turkistan region (Kazakhstan). Materials and methods. Between January and May 2025, 183 adolescent girls were examined, of whom 105 presented with clinical manifestations of dysmenorrhea, while 78 formed the control group without complaints of menstrual pain. Results. Comparative analysis demonstrated that the two groups exhibited no statistically significant differences in age, stages of pubertal development, body mass index, levels of follicle-stimula­ting and luteinising hormones, prolactin, and thyroid-stimulating hormone, as well as in the prevalence of chronic somatic diseases and the frequency of hirsutism. At the same time, the only indicator showing statistically reliable differences was the vitamin D level, which in the dysmenorrhea group was 15.68 ± 3.31 ng/mL, whereas in healthy peers this parameter reached 22.25 ± 2.74 ng/mL (p < 0.001). The synthesis of the findings indicates a pronounced and statistically confirmed association between reduced vitamin D concentration and the development of primary dysmenorrhea in adolescence, allowing hypovitaminosis D to be considered a potential biomarker of the risk of menstrual pain and a basis for preventive and therapeutic strategies. Conclusions. Most classical somatic and hormonal factors exerted no significant influence on the presence of menstrual pain, while decreased vitamin D levels emerged as a potentially meaningful biomarker of primary dysmenorrhea. The practical relevance of these results lies in the possibility of using vitamin D assessment as an accessible and informative approach to the early identification and prevention of dysmenorrhea in adolescent girls.