Sleep disturbance is associated with an increased risk of menstrual problems in female Chinese university students

Purpose We aimed to investigate the association between sleep disturbance and menstrual problems in female Chinese university students. Methods A convenience sample of 1006 female university students participated in this study. Sleep duration, sleep quality, and insomnia symptoms were assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Insomnia Severity Index. A structured questionnaire was used to assess participants’ demographics and menstrual characteristics. Results The prevalence rates of irregular menstrual cycle, heavy menstrual bleeding, menstrual flow length ≥ 7 days, period pain, and premenstrual syndrome were significantly higher in participants with sleep disturbance than those without sleep disturbance (all p