Investigation on menstrual abnormality status of female employees in telecommunication service industry

  Objective  To understand the occurrence of menstrual abnormalities and possible influencing factors among female employees in the telecommunications service industry.

  Methods  From July to September 2020, a cluster sampling method was used to investigate the menstrual abnormality status of female employees in the telecommunications service industry in Hebei Province in the past 6 months through a self-administered questionnaire. The Female Employee Mental Health Survey Questionnaire was used to investigate occupational stress. A multi-factor logistic regression model was used to analyze the possible influencing factors for menstrual abnormalities.

  Results  A total of 1 202 valid questionnaires were collected, with an effective recovery rate of 94.5%. The average age of the surveyed females was (36.81 ±5.44) years old. 236 females (19.6%) had menstrual abnormalities manifested as menstrual cycle disorders, excessive or insufficient menstrual flow, prolonged or shortened menstrual periods, blood stasis, dysmenorrhea, etc. According to the results of logistic regression, the risk of menstrual abnormalities for female workers with a history of abortion was 2.218 times higher than the risk for female workers without a history of abortion; the risk of menstrual abnormalities for female workers exposed to noise was 2.112 times higher than the risk for female workers who were not exposed to noise; the risk of menstrual abnormalities for female workers with a workweek longer than 40 hours was 3.279-4.340 times higher; and the risk of menstruation abnormalities increased to 1.076 times the initial risk for every 1 point rise in the occupational stress questionnaire score (all P < 0.05).

  Conclusions  A history of artificial abortion, exposure to noise, excessive weekly working hours, and higher occupational stress were risk factors for menstrual abnormalities among female employees in the telecommunications service industry. It is recommended for enterprises to improve the working environment, arrange work shifts reasonably, strengthen mental health education, and promote reproductive health among female employees.