Dysmenorrhea is one of the most frequent gynecological conditions, characterized by colicky pain that affects the lower abdomen. Many systems can be affected during the menstrual period. It is known that the different phases of the menstrual cycle influence the motility of the small and large intestine, even evolving with a delay in the intestinal transit time.

To correlate the symptom of dysmenorrhea with the function of anal continence in young nulliparous women.

A descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study was carried out with a convenience sample of young nulliparous women. Women aged between 18 and 30 years who had never been pregnant were selected. The participants were evaluated by the same examiner using the socio-clinical questionnaire, visual analogue pain scale (VAS), Bristol scale and Jorge & Wexner fecal incontinence scale (domains: solid stools, liquid stools, flatus, use of protector, lifestyle change). Data were analyzed according to the distribution of normality of the sample and presented as means and standard deviation of the variables and compared the groups with and without dysmenorrhea as a function of fecal continence using the t-test for independent samples. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Program for Social Sciences (version 23) considering a significance level of 5%.

Participated in this study 69 nulliparous young adult women with a mean age of 21.86 ± 3.16 years. Dysmenorrhea had a prevalence of 65.21% (n=45) and the majority had regular menstrual flow. The level of pain from dysmenorrhea was low, with a mean VAS of 3.59 ± 3.16 points. Most of the sample reported normal bowel function with a defecation pattern between 5 and 7 times a week, without the need to use medication to defecate. The appearance of the stools also denoted a normal evacuation, with the majority being classified as 3 by the Bristol scale. By analysis the domains of the Jorge & Wexner incontinence scale, it was verified that the majority of the sample did not have anal incontinence. In the comparison between the groups with and without dysmenorrhea, there was no statistically significant difference for anal incontinence, however the group with dysmenorrhea had higher values ​​for anal incontinence. There was also no correlation between the presence of dysmenorrhea and the domains of anal incontinence.

Dysmenorrhea is prevalent among young nulliparous women. Intestinal functioning presented good performance. Dysmenorrhea did not interfere with the anal continence of the sample studied, however clinically a worsening of anal incontinence was observed in the group with dysmenorrhea.

In scientific terms, it is known that dysmenorrhea influences intestinal functioning, but also that, although there was no statistical significance, if the sample is increased, it can probably be shown that dysmenorrhea interferes with anal continence. In clinical terms, this study is relevant because it presents the importance of evaluation dysmenorrhea and anal continence in young nulliparous women, considering that both conditions are common in the population.