Menstrual and Oral Contraceptive Use Patterns Among Deployed Military Women by Race and Ethnicity

Figures & data

TABLE 1 General Characteristics of Women by Race/Ethnicity

	Caucasian (n = 141)	Asian (n = 67)	Hispanic (n = 67)	African American (n = 184)
Racial/Ethnic Distribution (%)	30.9	14.6	14.6	40.4
Age (yrs), Mean (SD)	26.7 (± 0.5)	28.4 (± 0.7)*	24.4 (± 0.6)	26.8 (± 0.5)
Enlisted (%)	92.3%	91.9%	94.0%	75.0%*
Deployed ≥ 12 months (%)	96.5	97.0	97.0	97.8
Deployed to Iraq (%)	55.6	67.2*	46.3	46.2
Deployed to Afghanistan (%)	41.0	25.4*	57.2	48.9
Strenuous Duties ≥ 5 d/wk (%)	28.8	51.6*	38.8	36.4

TABLE 2 Characteristics and Patterns of Menstrual Cycles by Race/Ethnicity

	Caucasian (n = 141)	Asian (n = 67)	Hispanic (n = 67)	African American (n = 184)
Cycles every 22–28 days (%)	51.8	40.3	54.4	49.7
Short Cycles* (%)	17.0	17.1	11.4	14.4
Long Cycles**	2.3	7.3	3.9	3.0
Amenorrhea*** (%)	26.1	19.5	23.5	18.2
Amenorrhea**** (%)	18.2	9.8	17.6	13.1
Break-Thru Bleeding ^# (%)	31.9	40.3	36.9	34.3
Menstrual bleeding ≥7 d (%)	14.7	19.4	9.2	9.4
Reported Moderate to Severe Menstrual Pain (%)	54.4	46.8	65.0	51.9
Sought Med Treat ≥ once (%)	21.9	18.2	16.7	16.3
Missed ≥ 1 day of work (%)	16.9	6.1*	15.4	12.2

TABLE 3 Total and Individual Menstrual Concerns and Dysmenorrhea Scores (Mean ± SEM) by Race/Ethnicity After Adjusting for Age, Rank, Use of OC, Time Deployed, and Strenuous Activity

Menstrual concern scores ^1	Caucasian (n = 141)	Asian (n = 67)	Hispanic (n = 67)	African American (n = 184)
Total Concerns	35.4 ± 1.7 ^a	41.1 ± 2.5 ^a	40.8 ± 2.5 ^a	28.1 ± 1.5 ^b
Physical training ^2	4.2 ± 0.2 ^a	4.7 ± 0.4 ^a	4.1 ± 0.3 ^a	2.9 ± 0.2 ^b
Change	4.4 ± 0.3 ^a ^b	5.4 ± 0.4 ^b	5.3 ± 0.4 ^b	3.5 ± 0.2 ^a
Cramps	4.6 ± 0.3 ^a ^b	4.4 ± 0.4 ^a ^b	5.2 ± 0.4 ^b	3.6 ± 0.2 ^a
Headache	5.0 ± 0.3 ^a ^b	5.5 ± 0.4 ^b	5.8 ± 0.4 ^b	4.3 ± 0.2 ^a
Bloating	3.9 ± 0.3 ^a	4.7 ± 0.4 ^a	5.0 ± 0.4 ^a	3.0 ± 0.2 ^b
Nausea	3.6 ± 0.2 ^a ^b	4.2 ± 0.4 ^b ^c	4.6 ± 0.4 ^b	2.8 ± 0.2 ^a
Breast tenderness	3.4 ± 0.2 ^a	3.8 ± 0.3 ^a	3.5 ± 0.3 ^a	2.4 ± 0.2 ^b
Unexpected cycle	3.3 ± 0.3 ^a	4.7 ± 0.4 ^b	3.7 ± 0.4 ^a ^b	2.9 ± 0.2 ^a
Spotting	3.0 ± 0.2 ^a ^b	3.8 ± 0.4 ^b	3.5 ± 0.4 ^a ^b	2.6 ± 0.2 ^a
Dysmenorrhea	20.5 ± 1.0 ^a	22.5 ± 1.5 ^a	24.1 ± 1.5 ^a	16.1 ± 0.9 ^b

FIGURE 1 The percent of CA, AS, HIS, and AA women who reported being bothered minimally and severely by various menstrual issues (*p < 0.05).

FIGURE 2 The percent of CA, AS, HIS, and AA women reporting mild, moderate, and severe dysmenorrhea (*p < 0.05).

FIGURE 3 The percent of CA, AS, HIS, and AA women with moderate and severe dysmenorrhea who reported missing ≥ 1 day of work and seeking medical treatment for dysmenorrhea (*p < 0.05).

TABLE 4 Patterns of OC Use and Compliance by Race/Ethnicity

	CA (n = 141)	AS (n = 67)	HIS (n = 67)	AA (n = 184)
Ever used OC (%)	76.6	67.2	77.6	82.6
Used OC during deployment (%)	35.3	37.9	43.8	42.3
OC compliance (%)	54.0	40.0	60.0	65.0
Used OC continuously (%)	13.2	19.7	20.3	17.1
Desired education pre-deployment on OC (%)	81.6	88.9	91.4	83.7
Desired education in basic training on OC (%)	85.6	83.9	93.2	82.4
Would likely use continuously next deployment (%)	26.0	36.0	32.3	31.8