Implications of Argentine Tango for Health Promotion, Physical Well-Being as Well as Emotional, Personal and Social Life on a Group of Women Who Dance

Joanna Witkoś and Magdalena Hartman-Petrycka
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Joanna Witkoś: Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University, 30-705 Kraków, Poland
Magdalena Hartman-Petrycka: Department of Basic Biomedical Science, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Sosnowiec, Medical University of Silesia, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 11, 1-15

Abstract: Background: The aim of the research was to determine the effect that dance has on the promotion of health, physical well-being, as well as the emotional, personal and social life of women who dance. In addition, the impact of the physical activity of long, often all-night dancing events on women’s health was investigated. This included possible disturbances in their monthly cycle and circadian rhythm, taking into account symptoms of biological rhythm disturbances. Methods: The study involved 214 women: tango group: 109, sedentary group: 105. The Mann–Whitney U and chi 2 tests were used to compare the groups, as well as multiple ordinal regression to analyse individual predictors of missed menstrual periods. Results: The tango vs. sedentary groups did not differ in the duration of menstrual bleeding, the degree of pain during menstruation, the regularity of menstruation, the number of regular monthly cycles per year, and amenorrhea. Intermenstrual spotting was more common in dancers (tango 12.8% vs. sedentary 4.8%; p = 0.038). The frequency of missed periods was not increased by any of the assessed aspects. In 59.6% of female dancers, milongas caused disturbances in circadian rhythms, including extreme fatigue and drowsiness (36.7%), 66.0% of the dancers mentioned only positive aspects of Argentine Tango’s impact on their personal life. Conclusions: tango plays a positive and multifaceted role in the lives of dancers and fulfils the need for social contact. The physical effort put into this form of physical activity does not significantly affect the menstrual cycle, and thus the reproductive functions, and can be recommended as an attractive and safe form of physical recreation for women.

Keywords: Argentine tango; dance; women’s health; physical well-being; social life; menstrual cycle disorders (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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