Phidelis M Marabi, Paul M Kosiyo, Stanslaus K Musyoki, Collins Ouma
{"title":"Thyroid and reproductive hormonal factors associated with menorrhagia among women in Kenya.","authors":"Phidelis M Marabi, Paul M Kosiyo, Stanslaus K Musyoki, Collins Ouma","doi":"10.4102/ajlm.v14i1.2653","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Menorrhagia, characterised by menstrual blood loss exceeding 80 mL per cycle, is a common issue in Western Kenya. However, there are insufficient data on how hormonal disorders contribute to its occurrence.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to examine the differences and associations between thyroid and reproductive hormone levels in women with menorrhagia versus those without, in Bungoma County, Kenya.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 428 women (214 with menorrhagia and 214 controls) aged 18-45 years, between 01 December 2022 and 31 September 2023 at Bungoma County Referral Hospital. The analysis included thyroid stimulating hormone, total and free triiodothyronine, thyroxine, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinising hormone, prolactin, oestrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Women experiencing menorrhagia had statistically significant increases in levels of FSH (<i>p</i> < 0.0001), oestrogen (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and total testosterone (<i>p</i> < 0.001), while prolactin levels had a statistically significant decrease (<i>p</i> < 0.001) compared to those without menorrhagia. There were no statistically significant differences in total triiodothyronine (<i>p</i> = 0.384), free triiodothyronine (<i>p</i> = 0.610), total thyroxine (<i>p</i> = 0.127), free thyroxine (<i>p</i> = 0.360), or thyroid stimulating (<i>p</i> = 0.118). No associations were found between menorrhagia and either thyroid or reproductive hormones.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Elevated levels of FSH, oestrogen, and testosterone, along with reduced prolactin, may serve as potential biomarkers for diagnosing menorrhagia in premenopausal or reproductively aged women. A screening tool that integrates these hormonal markers could improve the accuracy of diagnosis and optimise treatment strategies in primary healthcare settings.</p><p><strong>What this study adds: </strong>The study suggests that levels of FSH, oestrogen, total testosterone, and prolactin differ significantly between women with and without menorrhagia, indicating their potential use in predicting the condition.</p>","PeriodicalId":45412,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Laboratory Medicine","volume":"14 1","pages":"2653"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12067019/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"African Journal of Laboratory Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ajlm.v14i1.2653","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"MEDICINE, RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Menorrhagia, characterised by menstrual blood loss exceeding 80 mL per cycle, is a common issue in Western Kenya. However, there are insufficient data on how hormonal disorders contribute to its occurrence.
Objective: This study aimed to examine the differences and associations between thyroid and reproductive hormone levels in women with menorrhagia versus those without, in Bungoma County, Kenya.
Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 428 women (214 with menorrhagia and 214 controls) aged 18-45 years, between 01 December 2022 and 31 September 2023 at Bungoma County Referral Hospital. The analysis included thyroid stimulating hormone, total and free triiodothyronine, thyroxine, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinising hormone, prolactin, oestrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
Results: Women experiencing menorrhagia had statistically significant increases in levels of FSH (p < 0.0001), oestrogen (p < 0.001), and total testosterone (p < 0.001), while prolactin levels had a statistically significant decrease (p < 0.001) compared to those without menorrhagia. There were no statistically significant differences in total triiodothyronine (p = 0.384), free triiodothyronine (p = 0.610), total thyroxine (p = 0.127), free thyroxine (p = 0.360), or thyroid stimulating (p = 0.118). No associations were found between menorrhagia and either thyroid or reproductive hormones.
Conclusion: Elevated levels of FSH, oestrogen, and testosterone, along with reduced prolactin, may serve as potential biomarkers for diagnosing menorrhagia in premenopausal or reproductively aged women. A screening tool that integrates these hormonal markers could improve the accuracy of diagnosis and optimise treatment strategies in primary healthcare settings.
What this study adds: The study suggests that levels of FSH, oestrogen, total testosterone, and prolactin differ significantly between women with and without menorrhagia, indicating their potential use in predicting the condition.
期刊介绍：
The African Journal of Laboratory Medicine, the official journal of ASLM, focuses on the role of the laboratory and its professionals in the clinical and public healthcare sectors,and is specifically based on an African frame of reference. Emphasis is on all aspects that promote and contribute to the laboratory medicine practices of Africa. This includes, amongst others: laboratories, biomedical scientists and clinicians, medical community, public health officials and policy makers, laboratory systems and policies (translation of laboratory knowledge, practices and technologies in clinical care), interfaces of laboratory with medical science, laboratory-based epidemiology, laboratory investigations, evidence-based effectiveness in real world (actual) settings.
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