---
title: What are the most common PMS symptoms and how much pain do women experience?
description: Mood swings are the most common emotional symptom (35%) and belly pain the most common physical symptom (38%). Most women report mild pain.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/a-study-of-common-pre-menstrual-symptoms-their-severity-pain-with-relation-to-2016/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- What are the most common PMS symptoms and how much pain do women experience?

Survey study, 2016

# What are the most common PMS symptoms and how much pain do women experience?

Mood swings are the most common emotional symptom (35%) and belly pain the most common physical symptom (38%). Most women report mild pain.

 Early or limited evidence

200 female medical students at a medical college in India

## What they did

Cross-sectional study of 200 female medical students in India. Researchers had them complete questionnaires about PMS symptoms based on standard criteria and rate their pain severity on a 0-10 scale.

## What they found

Mood variability was the most common mood symptom (35% of students). Abdominal pain was the most common physical symptom (38% of students). 45% reported mild pain severity.

## What it means for you

Mood swings and belly pain are typical PMS experiences in this group. The study suggests that education about recognizing PMS is important. Results only apply to medical students, not all women.

35%

Students with mood variability as top symptom

38%

Students with abdominal pain as top symptom

45%

Students reporting mild pain severity

## About the study

Original title A Study of common Pre-menstrual Symptoms & their severity (Pain) with relation to VAS in Young Adult Medical Females Authors Shahina Khan Journal Journal of Medical Science And clinical Research Year 2016 Study design Survey study Participants 200 What was tested None (symptom assessment) Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v4i5.08](https://doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v4i5.08)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

## Related studies

Lab study, 2026

Do core stability exercises help women with PMDD?

Study, 2026

What are premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder?

Survey study, 2025

How common are premenstrual symptoms in college students?

Survey study, 2023

What factors make premenstrual syndrome worse in nursing students?

Study, 1976

Do mood and body changes happen at the same time in the menstrual cycle?

Survey study, 2026

How common is PMS among college-going girls in India?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗