Nutrition factors related to menstrual cycle among girls: a study in a high school in Sidoarjo, Indonesia

Abstract

Introduction: Irregular menstrual cycle is one indicator of reproductive health disorders. Nutritional status and behaviour are risk factors for menstrual cycle irregularities. This study aimed to analyse the correlation between nutritional status and behaviour with the menstrual cycle in adolescent girls. Methods: This research was a cross sectional study with 73 students from High School Sidoarjo, Indonesia as respondents. Nutritional status of respondents was obtained from anthropometric measurements, food intake with three times 24 hours food records, body image with MBSRQ-AS questionnaire, and physical activity was collected from the IPAQ questionnaire. Data were analysed using Spearman's test on SPSS 26.0. Results: The most common menstrual cycle problem experienced by respondents was oligomenorrhea (8.2%). The majority of respondents had good nutritional status based on BMI/A (67.1%) while 50.7% of respondents had a risk of chronic energy deficiency. The majority of respondents had intake less than needed. As much as 82.2% of respondents had moderate physical activity, while the body image score of respondents showed that 72.6% of respondents had a positive body image. The p-value in the correlation test was <0.05 in each variable. Menstrual cycles had the strongest correlation with nutritional status.  Conclusion: Nutritional status and behaviour factors are related to the menstrual cycle in adolescent girls. Health promotion regarding reproductive health and nutrition in adolescent girls can be further improved, considering that the menstrual cycles may have an impact on fertility in the future.