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Comparisons of Health-Related Quality of Life among Users of Different Types of Menstrual Products: A Study of Taiwanese University Students

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Sex Roles
Authors:
Pin-Tzu Huang
Pin-Tzu Huang
Jiun-Hau Huang at National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Jiun-Hau Huang
  • National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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Abstract

On average, women menstruate for approximately half of their lives. Little is known about whether and how health-related quality of life (HRQOL) differs across users of different types of menstrual products. To answer this question, this study collected data from 1,245 female university students in Taiwan through an anonymous online survey and compared users of different types of menstrual products in four HRQOL domains. Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed significant differences in all four domains. For instance, regarding physical health, tampon users reported better HRQOL (β = .054) than pad users; regarding social health, tampon (β = .059) and menstrual cup (β = .071) users both reported better HRQOL than pad users. Furthermore, factors influencing HRQOL also differed between pad and tampon users. For example, having many premenstrual symptoms affected both pad (β = -.115) and tampon (β = -.172) users’ physical HRQOL; while pad users with many premenstrual symptoms also had worse psychological (β = -.085), social (β = -.100), and environment (β = -.104) HRQOL, their tampon-using counterparts were not significantly affected. Bisexual tampon-using college women reported worse social HRQOL (β = -.149) than their heterosexual peers. In addition, relationship status and varsity team membership had differential significant associations with the four domains. Future menstrual health education could focus more on introducing the different features of various menstrual products. Our empirical findings can help empower women to make informed decisions about which menstrual products could best suit their needs and improve their HRQOL.
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Vol.:(0123456789)
1 3
Sex Roles (2023) 89:223–235
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-023-01367-9
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Comparisons ofHealth‑Related Quality ofLife amongUsers ofDifferent
Types ofMenstrual Products: AStudy ofTaiwanese University Students
Pin‑TzuHuang1· Jiun‑HauHuang1,2
Accepted: 31 March 2023 / Published online: 6 May 2023
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2023
Abstract
On average, women menstruate for approximately half of their lives. Little is known about whether and how health-related
quality of life (HRQOL) differs across users of different types of menstrual products. To answer this question, this study
collected data from 1,245 female university students in Taiwan through an anonymous online survey and compared users of
different types of menstrual products in four HRQOL domains. Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed significant
differences in all four domains. For instance, regarding physical health, tampon users reported better HRQOL (β = .054)
than pad users; regarding social health, tampon (β = .059) and menstrual cup (β = .071) users both reported better HRQOL
than pad users. Furthermore, factors influencing HRQOL also differed between pad and tampon users. For example, having
many premenstrual symptoms affected both pad (β = -.115) and tampon (β = -.172) users’ physical HRQOL; while pad
users with many premenstrual symptoms also had worse psychological (β = -.085), social (β = -.100), and environment (β
= -.104) HRQOL, their tampon-using counterparts were not significantly affected. Bisexual tampon-using college women
reported worse social HRQOL (β = -.149) than their heterosexual peers. In addition, relationship status and varsity team
membership had differential significant associations with the four domains. Future menstrual health education could focus
more on introducing the different features of various menstrual products. Our empirical findings can help empower women
to make informed decisions about which menstrual products could best suit their needs and improve their HRQOL.
Keywords Menstrual product· Health-related quality of life (HRQOL)· WHOQOL-BREF· Female university
students· Taiwan
On average, women menstruate for approximately half of
their lives and generally experience a menstrual cycle on a
monthly basis. Menstruation can thus be regarded as an inte-
gral part of their lives. Women need to find ways to manage
monthly menstruation, and one of the essential menstrual
management issues is their choice of a menstrual product
that meets their needs. Before the first disposable pads were
introduced in the 1920s, women had used white cloth to
collect their menstrual blood. Subsequently, tampons were
patented in the early 1930s (Latka, 2001). Since then,
women have used pads and tampons for nearly a century. In
1937, silicon menstrual cups were invented and have been
used by European and American women for over 80 years;
by contrast, in Taiwan, menstrual cups were not available for
purchase until 2017 (Mooncup, 2016). According to recent
research among Taiwanese female college students, the most
commonly used menstrual products have been pads, with
self-reported prevalence just under 65% (Chang etal., 2015;
Huang & Huang, 2020).
Notably, prior research found that advances in menstrual
products had a significant impact on women’s lives (Tzeghai
etal., 2015). Different features of menstrual products are
associated with different health risks. For example, an Indian
study found that, compared with women using disposable
pads, those using reusable cloth pads were more likely to
have urogenital infections, such as bacterial vaginosis and
urinary tract infections (Das etal., 2015). In light of this, it is
reasonable to suggest that different menstrual products may
Jiun-Hau Huang contributed equally to this work as first author.
* Jiun-Hau Huang
jhuang@ntu.edu.tw
1 Institute ofHealth Behaviors andCommunity Sciences,
College ofPublic Health, National Taiwan University, 17
Xu-Zhou Road, Taipei10055, Taiwan
2 Department ofPublic Health, College ofPublic Health,
National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... Surprisingly, some women even connect tampon usage with the perception of shorter menstrual cycles. Notably, a study on health-related quality of life and menstrual products by Huang [33] reported more favorable outcomes for tampon users compared to those using disposable pads. This contradicts Garcia-Egea's findings, where negative testi-monials emerged regarding tampons and disposable menstrual products, citing concerns related to environmental impact and health [3]. ...
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