Table 1 Participants’ sociodemographic characteristics, menstrual characteristics, and health conditions (N = 19,358)

Age

M (SD) = 33.8 (8.7)

 18–25

4155 (21.5%)

 26–35

6753 (34.9%)

 36–45

6587 (34.0%)

 46–55

1863 (9.6%)

Gender

 Women

18,706 (96.6%)

 Non-binary/other

652 (3.4%)

Trans

 Yes

158 (0.8%)

 No

19,055 (98.4%)

 Don’t know

145 (0.8%)

Country of birth

 Spain

17,745 (93.4%)

 Other

1264 (6.6%)

Administrative situation

 Spanish nationality

18,492 (95.8%)

 Permanent residency

619 (3.2%)

 Temporal residency

145 (0.8%)

 No permit/in process

43 (0.2%)

Employment situation

 Working full-time/part-time

12,574 (65.0%)

 Self-employed

1834 (9.5%)

 Studying full-time/part-time

4600 (23.8%)

 Unemployment, COVID-19, retirement and other benefits

1687 (8.7%)

 Unpaid carer/houseworker

1020 (5.3%)

Completed education

 Primary education

214 (1.1%)

 Secondary education

5450 (28.2%)

 University education

13,664 (70.7%)

Caregiver

 No

12,464 (64.7%)

 Yes

6789 (35.3%)

Financial problems < 12 months

 Always/Many times

2245 (11.8%)

 Some/A few times

5878 (31.0%)

 Never

10,847 (57.2%)

Self-rated health

 Excellent

1262 (6.5%)

 Very good

7430 (38.5%)

 Good

8865 (45.9%)

 Fair

1603 (8.3%)

 Poor

153 (0.8%)

Age at menarche

M (SD) = 12.4 (1.5)

 ≤10

1491 (7.8%)

 11–12

9124 (47.8%)

 13–15

7956 (41.7%)

 ≥16

499 (2.6%)

Menstrual bleeding abundance

 < 25 ml

3335 (17.2%)

 25–80 ml

12,074 (62.4%)

 > 80 ml

3923 (20.3%)

Menstrual blood clots

 Yes

6957 (35.9%)

 No

12,401 (64.1%)

Menstrual bleeding duration

 < 2 days

316 (1.6%)

 2–7 days

17,765 (92.0%)

 > 7 days

1239 (6.4%)

Menstrual cycle duration

 < 21 days

1527 (8.0%)

 21–35 days

15,829 (83.0%)

 > 35 days

1707 (9.0%)

Menstrual pain

 Low intensity

5874 (31.0%)

 Moderate intensity

8792 (46.3%)

 High intensity

4308 (22.7%)

Menstrual pain management

 Use of analgesics

12,978 (68.4%)

 Use of natural remedies

9886 (52.1%)

 Yoga/Meditation or physical activity

160 (0.8%)

 Resting, self-care (including through nutrition)

299 (1.6%)

 Sex (including masturbation)

59 (0.3%)

 Cannabis, cannabidiol (CBD), or alcohol use

44 (0.2%)

 Alternative medicine

20 (0.1%)

 Accessing the emergency room

14 (0.1%)

 Physiotherapy/Osteotherapy

16 (0.1%)

 Transcutaneous electric stimulation

7 (0.0%)

 Cannot afford menstrual pain management products

40 (0.2%)

 I do not do anything

3719 (19.6%)

 No menstrual pain

1520 (8.0%)

 Do not know what to do

526 (2.8%)

Premenstrual symptoms

 Always/Many times

12,009 (68.2%)

 Some/A few times

4751 (27.0%)

 Never

844 (4.8%)

Gynaecological and systemic health conditions

 Anaemia

5958 (30.8%)

 Iron deficiency

8601 (44.4%)

 Uterine myomas

1454 (7.5%)

 Endometrial polyps

989 (5.1%)

 Endometriosis/adenomyosis

925 (4.8%)

 Polycystic ovary syndrome

3072 (15.9%)

 Premenstrual syndrome/dysphoric premenstrual disorder

2629 (13.6%)

 Gynaecological cancers (ovary or fallopian tube, uterine and cervical)

107 (0.6%)

 Breast cancer

74 (0.4%)

 No diagnosis

5704 (29.5%)