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Frequency of bleeding disorders in women with menorrhagia

How many women with menorrhagia actually have a bleeding disorder?

A study by Kadir et al (The Lancet, February 14, 1998) reported that 1 woman out of 5 who went to see their doctors because of heavy, prolonged bleeding during their periods (menorrhagia) actually has a bleeding disorder. This means that menorrhagia caused by bleeding disorders is much more common than doctors thought in the past.

The most common bleeding disorders diagnosed in this study were von Willebrand disease and factor XI deficiency.

Platelet function disorders were not completely evaluated. This means that more than 1 out of 5 women with menorrhagia could have a bleeding disorder.

Careful questioning by doctors showed that many of the women with bleeding disorders could report a family history of bleeding problems.

In the general population less than 10% of women have menorrhagia. Kadir et al (Haemophilia, May 1998) found that:

  • 73% of women with von Willebrand disease suffer from menorrhagia
  • 57% of women who are carriers of hemophilia A or B suffer from menorrhagia
  • 59% of women with factor XI deficiency suffer from menorrhagia.

How does menorrhagia affect a woman's quality of life?

Menorrhagia seriously affects women's quality of life. Here are some examples.

  • Many women limit the amount of time they work.
  • Many women change careers as a result of bleeding problems.
  • Many women are unable to work normally during their menstrual periods
  • Many women have lost faith in the medical profession after being told for years their problems were not real
  • Many women suffer constant fatigue from iron deficiency anemia.
  • Some women suffer from depression as a result of the stress of their bleeding disorder.
  • Many women suffer pain during their menstrual periods and times of ovulation.
  • Many women have pain during sexual intercourse.
  • Many girls and women must live with the embarrassment of staining due to heavy bleeding
  • Many women have had hysterectomies. Their bleeding symptoms were ignored. Doctors could not diagnose a bleeding disorder. This means they could not have any more children.


This problem is only now being recognized. Often, women themselves did not realize they were not normal. Their bleeding problem ran in the family. Therefore sisters, mothers, grandmothers, and aunts often had the same problem. Nobody saw it as special or, if they did, they said, 'All the women in our family bleed a lot during their periods.'