Objective To understand the current situation of primary dysmenorrhea among female college students and analyze its influencing factors

so as to provide reference for further development of preventive measures.Methods Using convenience sampling

319 female college students from several general higher education institutions in Henan Province were selected as respondents and surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire

the Self-Management Behavior Scale of Primary Dysmenorrhea for Female College Students and the Chinese version of the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire（Chinese version of MDQ）.Results The prevalence of primary dysmenorrhea in the survey subjects was 77.1 %（246/319）

of whom 33.7%（83/246） had mild dysmenorrhea

53.3%（131/246） had moderate dysmenorrhea

and 13.0%（32/246） had severe dysmenorrhea.The most common symptoms of primary dysmenorrhea were unbearable pain and cramping in the abdomen（92.3%）

followed by low back pain（56.1 %） and weakness（54.1 %）.The common ways of relief when primary dysmenorrhea occurred among the survey respondents were lying in bed as much as possible（75.6%）

applying heat to the lower abdomen（74.0%）

and massaging the dysmenorrheic area（32.9 %）

while the less common ways of relief were seeking help from a doctor（7.3%）

paying extra attention to TV programs on dysmenorrhea（2.9%）

and seeking help from a teacher（2.4%）.The MDQ score of the survey respondents with dysmenorrhea was 68.96±17.94

which was higher than that of those without dysmenorrhea（52.16±12.88）（P<0.05）.Univariate analysis revealed statistically significant differences（P<0.05） in the incidence of primary dysmenorrhea among respondents with different professions and maternal histories of dysmenorrhea

with the incidence of primary dysmenorrhea being higher in respondents with medical professions than in those with non-medical professions

and the incidence of primary dysmenorrhea being higher in respondents whose mothers had a history of dysmenorrhea than in those whose mothers had no history of dysmenorrhea.Logistic regression analysis revealed that MDQ score

whether or not they were medical majors and maternal history of dysmenorrhea were factors influencing the occurrence of primary dysmenorrhea in female college students（P<0.05）.Conclusion The occurrence of primary dysmenorrhea among female university students is relatively common

and most of them have mild or moderate dysmenorrhea.The factors influencing its occurrence are the severity of PMS symptoms

professional distribution

and maternal history of dysmenorrhea.Therefore

people with dysmenorrhea can improve their quality of life during menstruation by learning about dysmenorrhea

improving PMS symptoms and adopting the correct approach to relieve them.