Case-control study, 2018
Is the stress response system overactive in women with premenstrual syndrome?
No. Women with PMS actually had lower stress hormone levels and less stress response activity than women without PMS during the late phase of the menstrual cycle.
What they did
18 women aged about 30 (9 with PMS, 9 without) were studied during two phases of their menstrual cycle: the early follicular phase and the late luteal phase (days before menstruation). Researchers measured stress hormones, heart rate patterns, blood pressure, and responses to stress-mimicking drugs.
What they found
During the late luteal phase, women with PMS had lower stress hormone levels than women without PMS, both while lying down and during a tilt test. They also needed higher doses of a drug to increase blood pressure, suggesting less stress response activity.
What it means for you
Women with PMS may have reduced stress response system activity during the late phase of the cycle, not increased activity as previously thought. This was a very small study and these findings need to be confirmed in larger groups.
9
Women with PMS
9
Women without PMS
30.4
Average age (years) in PMS group
About the study
- Original title
- Cardiovascular Autonomic Profile in Women With Premenstrual Syndrome
- Authors
- Koifman R, Dayan L, Ablin JN et al.
- Journal
- Frontiers in physiology
- Year
- 2018
- Study design
- Case-control study
- Participants
- 15
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.01384
Original abstract
Introduction: The premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a constellation of somatic and psychogenic symptoms that appear during late luteal (LL) phase of the menstrual cycle. Since many symptoms could be related to the autonomic nervous system, we hypothesized that the sympathetic nervous system is perturbed in PMS. Methods: The cardiovascular autonomic profile of nine women with PMS (30.4 ± 2.5 years) were compared to that of nine healthy controls (30 ± 2.5 years) during their early follicular (EF) and LL phases of the menstrual cycle. Plasma norepinephrine (NE) concentrations, power spectral analysis of heart rate and systolic blood pressure (BP), and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) were assessed during recumbency and a head-up tilt (HUT). Cardiovascular responsiveness to α1- and β-adrenoreceptor agonists (phenylephrine and isoproterenol, respectively) were also assessed. Results: In the LL phase, the plasma NE concentrations in women with PMS during recumbency and a HUT were lower than those in women without PMS [180 ± 30 vs. 320 ± 50 pg/ml; p = 0.04 (recumbent), and 480 ± 70 vs. 940 ± 180 pg/ml: p = 0.02 (HUT)]. In the LL phase, the dose of phenylephrine required to increase systolic BP by 15 mmHg in women with PMS was significantly greater than that in women without PMS (202 ± 30 μg vs. 138 ± 20 μg; p = 0.02). Sympathetic and vagal cardiac control indices were comparable in the two groups in the menstrual phases. In women with PMS, the value of LF SBP in the LL phase was lower than that in the EF phase (0.98 ± 0.2 vs. 1.77 ± 0.4 mmHg 2 , p = 0.04). The increase in LF SBP in women with PMS in the LL phase during HUT was greater than that in the controls, 5.2 ± 0.9 vs. 3.1 ± 0.5 mmHg 2 , p = 0.045, and this increase was associated with a significant decrease in BRS. Conclusion: In women with PMS without psychogenic symptoms, the sympathetic control of their circulation is not dominant during the LL phase of their menstrual cycle.
Reproduced under CC-BY.
Topics
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