School and work absenteeism due to menstruation in three West African countries: findings from PMA2020 surveys

Figures & data

Table 1. Study sample characteristics

	Burkina Faso (n = 2468) n (%)	Niamey, Niger (n = 978) n (%)	Nigeria (n = 8360) n (%)
Age
15–19	636 (25.78)	283 (28.91)	1832 (21.91)
20–24	392 (15.88)	167 (17.12)	1310 (15.67)
25–29	57 (14.44)	151 (15.42)	1467 (17.55)
30–34	342 (13.87)	144 (14.73)	1185 (14.17)
35–39	304 (12.31)	107 (10.97)	1164 (13.92)
40–49	437 (17.72)	126 (12.85)	1402 (16.77)
Marital status
Married/Cohabitating	1690 (68.46)	523 (53.47)	4669 (55.86)
Divorced or widowed	99 (4.03)	75 (7.72)	434 (5.19)
Never married	679 (27.51)	380 (38.82)	3256 (38.95)
Education
Never	1429 (57.94)	247 (25.27)	1167 (13.96)
Primary	416 (16.88)	196 (20.10)	1120 (13.40)
Secondary	568 (23.03)	417 (42.69)	4212 (50.38)
Higher	53 (2.16)	117 (11.95)	1861 (22.26)
Wealth tertile
Lowest tertile	820 (33.21)	274 (28.04)	2126 (25.43)
Middle tertile	778 (31.51)	324 (33.09)	2834 (33.91)
Highest tertile	871 (35.27)	380 (38.87)	3400 (40.66)
Residence
Rural	1853 (75.07)	46 (4.72)	3235 (38.70)
Urban	615 (24.93)	932 (94.28)	5124 (61.30)

Table 2. Self-reported work and school attendance and absenteeism due to menstruation in Burkina Faso according to socio-demographic characteristics and menstrual materials used

	Work (past month)				School (past year)
	Worked (n = 2468)	Missed (n = 998)	OR (95%CI)*	aOR (95%CI)*	School (n = 762)	Missed (n = 461)	OR (95%CI)**	aOR (95%CI)**
Age
15–19	23.93	22.73	1.00	1.00	61.41	16.32	1.00	1.00
20–24	28.48	22.82	1.01 (0.49–2.06)	1.33 (0.59–2.96)	45.02	20.18	1.30 (0.71–2.36)	0.98 (0.46–2.11)
25–29	40.53	19.89	0.84 (0.47–1.52)	1.14 (0.50–2.59)
30–34	48.12	18.42	0.77 (0.39–1.52)	1.02 (0.39–2.64)
35–39	44.28	13.85	0.55 (0.27–1.10)	0.66 (0.27–1.62)
40–49	49.20	18.15	0.75 (0.47–1.22)	0.88 (0.44–1.75)
Marital status
Married/cohabitating	39.80	19.01	1.00	1.00	15.26	19.97	1.00	1.00
Divorced or widowed	58.16	14.60	0.73 (0.38–1.39)	0.94 (0.47–1.90)	22.23	0	–	–
Never married	28.35	21.06	1.14 (0.71–1.81)	1.32 (0.66–2.65)	68.27	17.21	0.83 (0.31–2.22)	0.85 (0.29–2.51)
Education
Never	37.51	20.07	1.00	1.00			–
Primary	47.80	21.43	1.09 (0.60–1.95)	1.18 (0.65–2.13)	17.66	17.33	1.00	1.00
Secondary	28.11	14.55	0.68 (0.40–1.14)	0.73 (0.40–1.33)	71.92	16.17	0.92 (0.30–2.81)	0.76 (0.24–2.44)
Higher	52.25	12.14	0.55 (0.20–1.48)	0.78 (0.30–2.08)	97.94	36.39	2.73 (0.83–9.01)	1.86 (0.50–6.93)
Wealth tertile
Lowest tertile	33.09	24.04	1.00	1.00	58.33	12.02	1.00	1.00
Middle tertile	33.69	21.60	0.87 (0.51–1.49)	0.85 (0.48–1.48)	42.20	16.64	1.46 (0.60–3.58)	1.67 (0.66–4.20)
Highest tertile	44.83	14.17	0.52 (0.34–0.80)	0.73 (0.45–1.64)	62.65	19.69	1.79 (0.78–4.12)	1.86 (0.68–5.05)
Residence
Rural	33.61	22.01	1.00	1.00	52.33	14.49	1.00	1.00
Urban	48.78	13.28	0.54 (0.32–0.91)	0.75 (0.40–1.39)	63.00	21.60	1.63 (0.91–2.90)	1.36 (0.68–2.74)
Menstrual materials***
Pads	44.07	14.35	0.57 (0.33–0.97)	0.64 (0.33–1.25)	61.21	17.50	1.01 (0.55–1.85)	0.52 (0.23–1.15)
Cloth	35.37	21.62	1.38 (0.85–2.22)	0.87 (0.46–1.65)	42.27	15.36	0.83 (0.37–1.85)	0.64 (0.27–1.55)
Underwear alone	29.42	21.33	1.16 (0.60–2.24)	^†	56.44	18.97	1.11 (0.32–3.86)	^†
Other (e.g. cotton wool, toilet paper)	49.46	17.37	0.88 (0.36–2.14)	^†	55.35	19.05	1.12 (0.49–2.59)	^†
Total	37.39	19.17			56.11	17.32

*Of respondents who reported working in the past month.

**Of respondents aged 15–24 who reported attending school in the past 12 months.

***Multiple-response variable.

^† Excluded from multivariable comparison.

Table 3. Self-reported work and school attendance and absenteeism due to menstruation in Niamey, Niger according to socio-demographic characteristics and menstrual materials used

	Work (past month)			School (past year)
	Worked (n = 978)	Missed (n = 212)	OR (95% CI)*	School (n = 375)	Missed (n = 213)	OR (95% CI)**
Age
15–19	14.05	13.15	1.00 (0.70–1.42) (continuous)	58.10	10.08	1.17 (0.94–1.46) (continuous)
20–24	14.64	10.96		51.53	24.58
25–29	33.11	6.56
30–34	25.66	11.53
35–39	25.32	15.92
40–49	31.32	9.46
Marital status
In union	22.41	8.79	1.00	21.92	16.95	1.00
Not in union	22.07	13.02	1.55 (0.14–17.75)	63.18	14.59	0.84 (0.00–>100)
Education
Never	15.83	0.0	–
Primary	22.46	10.59	1.00	9.82	0.0	–
Secondary	19.24	11.50	1.10 (0.04–34.36)	62.57	15.47	1.00
Higher	46.51	17.60	1.80 (1.39–2.34)	80.98	13.83 (n = 4)	0.88 (<.00–>1000)
Wealth tertile
Lowest tertile	19.20	15.18	1.00	41.61	10.98	1.00
Middle tertile	17.23	15.18	1.00 (0.26–3.84)	52.68	13.17	1.23 (0.03–41.18)
Highest tertile	28.73	6.48	0.39 (0.02–8.09)	67.37	17.14	1.68 (<.01–>100)
Menstrual materials (multiple-response variable)
Pads	25.51	10.03	0.86 (0.49–1.50)	59.96	20.98	2.73 (<.01>100)
Cloth	19.59	5.57	0.42 (0.07–2.52)	51.20	2.97	0.15 (0.01–99.7)
Cotton wool	24.06	19.24	2.57 (<.01–>100)	55.81	9.48	0.55 (<.01>100)
Other (e.g. toilet paper, underwear)	21.30	12.62	1.24 (<.01–>100)	49.50	14.14	0.93 (0.12–7.05)
Total	22.25	10.77		55.77	14.74

*Of respondents who reported working in the past month.

**Of respondents aged 15–24 who reported attending school in the past 12 months.

Table 4. Self-reported work and school attendance and absenteeism due to menstruation in Nigeria according to socio-demographic characteristics and menstrual materials used

	Work (past month)				School (past year)
	Worked (n = 8360)	Missed (n = 3638)	OR (95%CI)*	aOR (95%CI)*	School (n = 2956)	Missed (n = 1574)	OR (95%CI)**	aOR (95%CI)**
Age
15–19	28.34	29.16	1.00	1.00	68.12	21.89	1.00	1.00
20–24	46.18	22.16	0.69 (0.49–0.98)	0.84 (0.58–1.21)	30.03	28.24	1.04 (1.04–1.89)	1.28 (0.85–1.92)
25–29	52.24	19.10	0.57 (0.40–0.82)	0.80 (0.54–1.19)
30–34	57.13	12.99	0.36 (0.25–0.53)	0.57 (0.37–0.89)
35–39	58.78	10.70	0.29 (0.19–0.44)	0.49 (0.29–0.82)
40–49	58.63	11.86	0.33 (0.22–-0.48)	0.53 (0.33–0.86)
Marital status
Married/Cohabitating	50.39	12.91	1.00	1.00	13.76	19.51	1.00	1.00
Divorced or widowed	57.52	14.74	1.17 (0.74–1.83)	1.12 (0.71–1.81)	32.16	2.44	0.10 (0.01–1.14)	0.11 (0.01–1.21)
Never married	45.17	23.80	2.11 (1.68–2.64)	1.73 (1.29–2.31)	61.16	23.67	1.28 (0.52–3.12)	1.20 (0.45–3.22)
Education
Never	27.62	23.93	1.00	1.00	–	–	–
Primary	39.23	19.07	0.75 (0.47–1.20)	0.80 (0.50–1.29)	23.24	15.14	1.00	1.00
Secondary	48.67	17.52	0.67 (0.42–1.08)	0.64 (0.40–1.04)	53.56	22.48	1.63 (0.80–3.31)	1.16 (0.56–2.38)
Higher	67.83	13.48	0.49 (0.30–0.82)	0.63 (0.36–1.09)	70.06	29.14	2.31 (1.07–4.97)	1.30 (0.55–3.05)
Wealth tertile
Lowest tertile	31.84	23.76	1.00	1.00	44.16	15.48	1.00	1.00
Middle tertile	48.56	19.60	0.78 (0.50–1.22)	0.98 (0.65–1.49)	49.91	24.78	1.79 (1.08–2.99)	1.39 (0.74–2.61)
Highest tertile	59.43	12.85	0.47 (0.32–0.70)	0.76 (0.47–1.21)	59.96	25.71	1.89 (1.15–3.10)	1.28 (0.63–2.63)
Residence
Rural	39.46	21.13	1.00	1.00	50.40	18.32	1.00	1.00
Urban	54.59	15.04	0.66 (0.45–0.97)	0.93 (0.61–1.41)	53.80	26.19	1.58 (1.10–2.28)	1.33 (0.83–2.12)
Menstrual materials (multiple response option variable)
Pads	54.34	15.80	0.74 (0.54–1.01)	1.27 (0.87–1.85)	54.03	25.31	1.73 (1.10–2.72)	1.47 (0.88–2.46)
Cloth	36.14	23.16	1.71 (1.27–2.29)	1.62 (1.15–2.29)	48.33	18.32	0.68 (0.43–1.09)	1.23 (0.71–2.15)
Toilet paper	61.48	9.49	0.49 (0.29–0.84)	^†	59.99	15.63	0.60 (0.27–1.33)	^†
Other (e.g. cotton wool, underwear)	52.59	18.13	1.09 (0.64–1.87)	^†	45.02	20.14	0.83 (0.33–2.06)	^†
State
Anambra	63.94	14.18	1.83 (1.19–2.81)	^†	66.88	29.10	1.43 (0.78–2.60)	^†
Kaduna	30.56	21.02	2.95 (1.82–4.78)	^†	48.49	34.17	1.81 (0.98–3.36)	^†
Kano	21.36	23.97	3.49 (1.79–6.82)	^†	52.08	17.93	0.76 (0.42–1.40)	^†
Lagos	62.24	8.28	1.00	^†	47.33	22.27	1.00	^†
Nasarawa	34.19	18.28	2.48 (1.45–4.24)	^†	52.13	21.03	0.93 (0.54–1.61)	^†
Rivers	64.27	22.58	3.23 (1.73–6.03)	^†	55.46	24.01	1.10 (0.62–1.96)	^†
Taraba	34.07	30.35	4.83 (2.77–8.42)	^†	43.33	15.56	0.64 (0.23–1.82)	^†
Total	48.73	16.95			52.53	23.38

*Of respondents who reported working in the past month.

**Of respondents aged 15–24 who reported attending school in the past 12 months.

^† Excluded from multivariable comparison.

Data availability statement

Data is publicly available for request on the PMA2020 website: https://www.pma2020.org/.