Clinical factors associated with anxiety and depression in Korean women with abnormal uterine bleeding

Abstract

The aims of the study were to investigate the prevalence of anxiety and depression and to correlate symptoms of anxiety and depression with abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) in Korean women. Our study included 124 Korean premenopausal women aged 15–55 without treatment of psychiatric disorders, who visited one university hospital due to AUB between September 2015 and December 2019. The Korean Beck Anxiety Inventory (K-BAI) and the Korean Beck Depression-II (K-BDI-II) were used to assess Anxiety and depression symptoms. We also analyzed obstetrical and clinical data to assess the association between anxiety and depression with AUB. The cut-off scores for possible anxiety disorder were met by 37.9% (47 women) of the patients and for possible depression disorder by 19.5% (24 women). The most common menstrual associated symptoms were heavy menstrual bleeding (80.6%), dysmenorrhea (55.6%), and irregular menstrual cycles (33.9%). More women with AUB in our study had anxiety as measured by the K-BAI and depression as measured by the K-BDI-II than general Korean population. A history of abortion and cesarean section (C/sec) were related with anxiety, whereas a history of minor surgery was related to depression. Anxiety and depression (r = 0.629, P < 0.001) were correlated with AUB. According to age, variable factors affect anxiety (history of abortion, history of C/sec, minor surgery, Body mass index [BMI], history of OCs) and depression (BMI ≥ 25, history of minor surgery). We have found that anxiety and depression seem to be underestimated in Korean women with AUB symptoms. The relationship between the development of anxiety and depression with variable factors are unknown and therefore, further study is needed to clarify and understand the effects of AUB. To improve the health of women with AUB, screening for mental health issues is needed for early detection and treatment of anxiety and depression.

Keywords

• abnormal uterine bleeding
• heavy menstrual bleeding
• anxiety
• depression