Canberra schoolgirls will follow a new method - described as the first of its type - to identify those who suffer from a debilitating condition that can cause infertility.
Melissa Parker, of the Canberra Endometriosis Clinic, says work is under way on a "self-screening tool" - a checklist - that will soon be tested among teenage girls.
Health Minister Katy Gallagher said the ACT was "leading the world" in developing the approach, which could indicate whether young women had endometriosis.
The idea came after Ms Parker and gynaecologist Anne Sneddon studied menstrual disorders among more than 1000 females aged 16 to 18 years living in the ACT.
Only 1 per cent of the college students experienced no period pain.
Ms Parker, a registered nurse and midwife, discovered 29 per cent of girls had mild pain and 70 per cent suffered moderate or severe pain.
One in 10 girls believed "some thing was wrong" with their periods.
About one in four suffered a "menstrual disturbance" that warranted more investigation and 26 per cent of girls reported that their periods were responsible for school absences.
Ms Parker recalled a student whose university studies were extended by 18 months because she had experienced problems with her periods.
Endometriosis is one cause of period pain, a condition in which cells that usually line the uterus are detected in other parts of the body such as on the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, the bladder and the bowel.
Sufferers may experience pain before and during their periods, pain during sex, fatigue, gastrointestinal problems and infertility.
Up to 10 per cent of women have endometriosis.
"It can take six to 10 years to get a diagnosis, and that's why we concentrated on the teenagers," Ms Parker told The Canberra Times yesterday.
"We feel that if we can pick it up earlier and diagnose it, then the girls have a much better chance of managing their disease and in that way minimising the impact on their life.
"Whereas what happens, I think, is because the diagnosis takes so long these women become very depressed. Often they're told that it's all in their head. There's nothing wrong with them, they can't find anything, so that's really quite soul-destroying ... to go through that for 10 years."
Ms Parker said the intention was to team the checklist method, also described as a tool used to handle the problem of identifying those with the condition, "with our menstrual education package, and we'll take that back into the colleges and ... test the tool", Ms Parker said.
"What it will do is identify the girls with significant menstrual disturbance who then need to be investigated."
The checklist approach is said to be attracting international interest.
The home-grown checklist is said to be already attracting international attention.