--- title: Does the type of diet a woman follows affect her PMS pain? | Niyora description: Not significantly. While pain increased during the pandemic in all women regardless of diet type, the type of diet did not meaningfully affect pain levels. url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/associations-between-diet-and-changes-in-pain-levels-among-young-women-with-2023/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does the type of diet a woman follows affect her PMS pain? Survey study, 2023 # Does the type of diet a woman follows affect her PMS pain? Not significantly. While pain increased during the pandemic in all women regardless of diet type, the type of diet did not meaningfully affect pain levels. Early or limited evidence 181 young Caucasian women with PMS ## What they did Compared PMS pain levels before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in 181 young women following different diets (vegetarian, basic, elimination), measured on a pain scale. ## What they found Pain increased from before to during the pandemic in all diet groups. Women on a basic diet had higher body weight than vegetarian diet women. No significant difference in pain increase was found between diet types. Pain was not correlated with age, BMI, weight, or height. ## What it means for you Diet type does not appear to affect PMS pain levels. The main limitations are the observational design, single time period studied, small sample, and inclusion only of young Caucasian women. 181 young women with PMS studied 3 diet types compared (basic, vegetarian, elimination) ## About the study Original title Associations between Diet and Changes in Pain Levels among Young Women with Premenstrual Syndrome-A Preliminary Study during the COVID-19 Pandemic Authors Mizgier M, Jarząbek-Bielecka G, Drejza M et al. Journal Journal of clinical medicine Year 2023 Study design Survey study Participants 181 What was tested None Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.3390/jcm12124015](https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12124015) Original abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the association between PMS (premenstrual syndrome)-related pain among young women following a particular type of diet during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was compared to the period before the pandemic. Furthermore, we aimed to determine whether the increase in the intensification of pain was correlated to their age, body weight, height and BMI, and whether there are differences in PMS-related pain between women who differ in their diet. A total of 181 young female Caucasian patients who met the criteria for PMS were involved in the study. Patients were divided according to the kind of diet they had followed during the last 12 months before the first medical evaluation. The rise in pain score was evaluated according to the Visual Analog Scale before and during the pandemic. Women following a non-vegetarian ("basic") diet had a significantly higher body weight in comparison to those on a vegetarian diet. Furthermore, a significant difference was noted between the level of intensification of pain before and during the pandemic in women applying a basic diet, a vegetarian and an elimination diet. Before the pandemic, women from all groups felt weaker pain than during the pandemic. No significant difference in the intensification of pain during the pandemic was shown between women with various diets, nor was there a correlation between intensification of pain and the girl's age, BMI, their body weight and also height for any of the diets applied. Reproduced under CC-BY. ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Diet and nutrition](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-diet/)[Adolescents and young people](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-adolescents/) 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 Survey study, 2021 What factors affect premenstrual syndrome in teenage girls? Survey study, 2019 What lifestyle and sleep habits are linked to PMS in teenage girls? Survey study, 2026 What factors are linked to PMS in teenagers? Survey study, 2026 Does eating more ultra-processed food make PMS symptoms worse? Survey study, 2026 How common is PMDD in Russian medical students, and what are its symptoms? Survey study, 2024 Do traditional Indian healing practices reduce PMS and menstrual cramps? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗