menstrual disorder in morbid obese patients, compared to normal-weighted controls

Background: the present study aimed to evaluate the association between menstrual cycle disorders and obesity in iranian women. methods and materials: in the present case-control study, 405 obese women of reproductive age who were referred to the obesity clinic of minimally invasive surgery research center, rasoul-e-akram hospital, in tehran city, iran between jan 2013 and oct 2015 were included as the case group. moreover, they were compared with a control healthy-weight group, selected from their family members (n=293). menstrual cycle characteristics were documented in a researcher-designed checklist. all statistical analyses were performed in spss and stata. results: in the case group, 47(11.6%) women had irregular menstrual cycles, while it existed in 22(7.5%) members of the control group (p<0.001). the prevalence of different menstrual disorders was as follows: polymenorrhea 107(26.4%) in the cases and 51(17.4%) in the controls (p<0.001); oligomenorrhea 22(5.4%) in the cases and 16(5.5%) in the controls (p<0.001). conclusion: the present study results indicated that morbid obesity increases the risk of menstrual irregularities and dysmenorrhea; therefore, it is essential to pay greater attention to this issue in morbidly obese patients for the proper management of this disturbing comorbidity.