--- title: Do women with PMDD who experienced abuse respond differently to stress? description: Women with PMDD who had experienced sexual or physical abuse showed different stress hormone patterns when stressed, with lower resting stress hormones but st url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/biological-correlates-of-abuse-in-women-with-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-and-2003/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do women with PMDD who experienced abuse respond differently to stress? Cohort study, 2003 # Do women with PMDD who experienced abuse respond differently to stress? Women with PMDD who had experienced sexual or physical abuse showed different stress hormone patterns when stressed, with lower resting stress hormones but stronger adrenaline responses, different from non-PMDD women with abuse histories. Early or limited evidence 28 women with PMDD and 28 control women ## What they did Twenty-eight women with confirmed PMDD were matched with 28 non-PMDD control women. All had their heart rate, blood pressure, and stress hormones measured at rest and during mental stress tests in both early and late phases of their cycle. All were interviewed about prior sexual and physical abuse experiences. ## What they found Twenty PMDD women with prior abuse had lower resting norepinephrine, stronger adrenaline receptor responses, and greater norepinephrine reactivity to stress in the late cycle phase compared to 8 PMDD women without prior abuse. In non-PMDD controls, prior abuse was associated with blunted cortisol, heart rate, and cardiac output responses to stress. ## What it means for you A history of abuse may affect how women's bodies respond to stress differently in PMDD compared to women without PMDD. This suggests PMDD and trauma history interact biologically, but the study was small, measured only two cycle phases, and examined associations rather than causes. 28 Women with PMDD studied 20 Women with PMDD who had prior abuse 10 Control women with prior abuse ## About the study Original title Biological correlates of abuse in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder and healthy controls Authors Girdler SS, Sherwood A, Hinderliter AL et al. Journal Psychosomatic medicine Year 2003 Study design Cohort study What was tested None (observational study examining prior abuse history) Read the paper [doi.org/10.1097/01.psy.0000088593.38201.cd](https://doi.org/10.1097/01.psy.0000088593.38201.cd) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/) 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 Review, 2023 What treatments help mental and physical health problems linked to the menstrual cycle? Randomised trial, 2019 Does online cognitive behavioral therapy help women with PMDD? Case-control study, 2016 Is cortisol dysregulation a cause of PMS or PMDD? Review, 2003 How do menstrual cycle hormones affect the brain and cause mood disorders like PMDD? Survey study, 2026 How common is PMDD among female medical students and what triggers it? Survey study, 2026 What hormonal and psychological factors affect PMS symptoms? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗