Survey study, 2023

Does having worse PMS symptoms mean a woman is more likely to feel depressed during pregnancy?

Yes, in this study the mood-related symptoms of PMS, such as low mood, anxiety and poor sleep, strongly predicted depressive symptoms in early pregnancy, which then predicted depression later in pregnancy. This is one observational study, so it shows a link, not a cause-and-effect proof.

Early or limited evidence Pregnant women followed from early to later pregnancy; exact number and country not given in the abstract.

What they did

Pregnant women were followed from early pregnancy into later pregnancy (20 weeks or more). A screening tool (PSST) scored premenstrual symptoms, including mood items like depression, anxiety and insomnia, plus relationship satisfaction and partner abuse. Depression was measured at both time points using the EPDS scale and analysed with a statistical model (partial least squares).

What they found

Mood-related PMS symptoms together with insomnia, relationship dissatisfaction and partner abuse explained 57.6% of the differences in early-pregnancy depression scores. Early depression then predicted later depression, with the link to later depression reaching significance for the mood-related PMS symptoms (p = 0.041), relationship dissatisfaction (p = 0.023) and partner abuse (p = 0.007). The physical (psychosomatic) PMS symptoms did not show this pattern.

What it means for you

The emotional symptoms of PMS, not the physical ones, seem to share underlying biology with depression in pregnancy, so severe PMS mood symptoms before pregnancy could be an early warning sign. The study is cross-sectional and observational, and the abstract does not state how many women were studied or where, so it cannot prove cause and effect and its findings may not apply everywhere.

57.6%

of early pregnancy depression score explained by PMS mood symptoms

p = 0.041

significance of PMS mood symptoms' effect on later depression

p = 0.007

significance of partner abuse's effect on later depression

About the study

Original title: Antenatal depressive symptoms are strongly predicted by the severity of pre-menstrual syndrome: results of partial least squares analysis
Authors: Abe Y, Sirichokchatchawan W, Sangkomkamhang U et al.
Journal: International journal of clinical and health psychology : IJCHP
Year: 2023
Study design: Survey study
What was tested: None tested; this was an observational study looking at associations, not a treatment.
Open access: Yes
Read the paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2022.100356

Topics

Pregnancy and postpartum Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)Relationships and partners Low mood and depression Sleep and insomnia

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