Associations of menstrual health with school absenteeism and examination performance among Ugandan secondary school students: A prospective study

Christopher Baleke; Levicatus Mugenyi; Kate A. Nelson; Katherine A. Thomas; Denis Ndekezi; Jonathan Reuben Enomut; Connie Alezuyo; John Jerrim; Helen A. Weiss

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0326549

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Open Access

Peer-reviewed

Research Article

Associations of menstrual health with school absenteeism and examination performance among Ugandan secondary school students: A prospective study

Christopher Baleke ,

Roles Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – original draft

* E-mail: Christopher.baleke@lshtm.ac.uk

Affiliation MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, Kampala, Uganda

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0731-6983

⨯
Levicatus Mugenyi,

Roles Formal analysis, Methodology

Affiliation MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, Kampala, Uganda
⨯
Kate A. Nelson,

Roles Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation International Statistics and Epidemiology Group; Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7747-1482

⨯
Katherine A. Thomas,

Roles Conceptualization, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation International Statistics and Epidemiology Group; Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
⨯
Denis Ndekezi,

Roles Investigation, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, Kampala, Uganda
⨯
Jonathan Reuben Enomut,

Roles Investigation, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, Kampala, Uganda
⨯
Connie Alezuyo,

Roles Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Ministry of Education and Sports, Kampala, Uganda
⨯
John Jerrim,

Roles Writing – review & editing

Affiliation UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London, United Kingdom
⨯
Helen A. Weiss

Roles Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Supervision, Writing – original draft

Affiliation International Statistics and Epidemiology Group; Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3547-7936

⨯

Associations of menstrual health with school absenteeism and examination performance among Ugandan secondary school students: A prospective study

Christopher Baleke,
Levicatus Mugenyi,
Kate A. Nelson,
Katherine A. Thomas,
Denis Ndekezi,
Jonathan Reuben Enomut,
Connie Alezuyo,
John Jerrim,
Helen A. Weiss

Published: January 23, 2026
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0326549

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