The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (ACOG) recognises the menstrual cycle as a sign of a woman's health. Deviations from normal may indicate an underlying medical condition or a stressor affecting the hypothalamus.1 Although menarche and regular menstruation thereafter are considered a critical developmental milestone in the life of an adolescent girl, excessive, frequent, and prolonged menstrual cycles can lead to decreased quality of life, fatigue, school absenteeism, and decreased social and physical activity.2

Abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) is uterine bleeding that is abnormal in quantity, frequency, duration and/or pattern.3 Although anovulation-related bleeding is most common in adolescents due to the immaturity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis rather than structural causes as in adult women, several causes such as bleeding disorders, endocrine causes, pregnancy, infection and drug use may be included in the differential diagnosis.4 During this particular developmental period, adolescents and parents may be unaware of the characteristics of the normal menstrual cycle, and some adolescents may be unaware of the severity of symptoms.5 Several factors contribute to this lack of awareness, including a lack of knowledge among healthcare providers and difficulties in diagnosis.6

The number of studies on adolescent menstrual problems and adolescent mood, behavioural problems and quality of life is limited. Although there are studies investigating the increasing impact of abnormal uterine bleeding on quality of life, especially in the heavy menstrual bleeding group,7 there are no studies investigating mood, quality of life and stress in adolescents with newly diagnosed abnormal uterine bleeding. The objective of the current study was to compare anxiety, depression, quality of life, and perceived stress between adolescents with abnormal uterine bleeding and control patients.