---
title: Does how women feel about their period relate to how severe their PMS is?
description: Yes. Women with negative attitudes toward menstruation had more intense PMS symptoms.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/a-study-on-premenstrual-syndrome-symptoms-and-their-association-with-the-2018/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Does how women feel about their period relate to how severe their PMS is?

Survey study, 2018

# Does how women feel about their period relate to how severe their PMS is?

Yes. Women with negative attitudes toward menstruation had more intense PMS symptoms.

 Moderate study design

450 female nursing staff aged 25-50 from various tertiary hospitals in India

## What they did

A cross-sectional study of 450 female nursing staff aged 25-50 from various hospitals in India. Participants completed questionnaires measuring PMS symptoms and their attitudes toward menstruation.

## What they found

85.6% had premenstrual symptoms overall (by ACOG criteria). 36.5% met the stricter diagnosis of PMS (by DSM-IV-TR criteria). There was a negative correlation between PMS intensity and positive attitudes toward menstruation across all age groups.

## What it means for you

Negative attitudes about menstruation may link to worse PMS symptoms. Education and positive messaging about periods could help. This was a cross-sectional study of nurses only. Findings may not apply to all women, and direction of causation is unclear.

85.6%

with symptoms (ACOG criteria)

36.5%

meeting PMS diagnosis (DSM)

450

nursing staff studied

## About the study

Original title A Study on Premenstrual Syndrome symptoms and their association with the Attitudes towards Menstruation in Nursing Staff Authors Hiba Narvel, Heena Merchant, Gauri Kore et al. Journal Indian Journal of Mental Health(IJMH) Year 2018 Study design Survey study Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.30877/ijmh.5.4.2018.481-485](https://doi.org/10.30877/ijmh.5.4.2018.481-485)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Psychotherapy, counselling and education](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-psychotherapy/)[Stigma, attitudes and culture](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-stigma-culture/)

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

Systematic review, 2025

Does teaching adolescent girls about their menstrual cycle and health help reduce period pain and PMS?

Study, 2026

What coping strategies help women manage PMS symptoms?

Survey study, 2025

Is a negative attitude toward menstruation linked to worse PMS symptoms?

Survey study, 2025

How much do women in Shimla know about PMS and how does it affect their lives?

Randomised trial, 2024

Can group counseling focused on positive psychology reduce PMS symptoms?

Survey study, 2024

Does education about PMS help couples' satisfaction and adjustment?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗