Objective. The purpose of this study is to identify menstruation characteristics of the women and the effects of menorrhagia on women’s quality of life. Methods. The study was designed as a descriptive, case-control one. Results. Of the women in the case group, 10.9% stated that their menstrual bleeding was severe and very severe before complaints while 73.2% described bleeding as severe or very severe after complaints. Among those who complained about menorrhagia, 46.7% pointed that they used hygienic products that are more protective than regular sanitary pads. Women also stated that their clothes, bed linens, and furniture got dirty parallel to the severity of the bleeding. In all subscales of SF-36 scale, quality of life of the women in the menorrhagia group was significantly lower than the ones in the control group ( ). Conclusion. Menorrhagia has negative effects on women’s quality of life. Therefore, quality of life of the women consulting the clinics with menorrhagia complaint should be investigated and effective approaches should be designed. 1. Introduction Menorrhagia, one of the most frequently encountered symptoms in gynaecology, is defined as menstruation periods at regular cycle but with excessive flow which may last more than 7 days. Menorrhagia can cause menstrual bleeding of more than 80？mL in each cycle [1]. Menorrhagia is a major cause of gynaecological diseases that affect 1–5 women living in Europe and North America in a period of their reproductive age; 9–14% of women in their reproductive age lose 80？mL blood in each cycle. This proportion shows similar frequency in developing countries as well. It was indicated that 12% of the adolescents in Nigeria complained about menorrhagia with blood loss over 80？mL. As to our country, 16% of the women aged between 15 and 44 were diagnosed with menorrhagia, and 25% of the women complained about long-frequent periods of bleeding or staining. In its multiple country study, World Health Organization (WHO) identified the prevalence of three-month severe bleeding as 8–27% [2]. Quality of life is the perception of individuals’ situations in life in relation to their aims, expectations, and standards within the framework of their cultural and value systems [3]. Despite rarely being life-threatening, menorrhagia has significant effects on personal, social, family, and work life of women and thereby reduces their quality of life [4]. Women describe the loss or reduction of daily activities as more important than the actual volume of bleeding [5]. Menorrhagia is largely responsible for iron
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