Survey study, 1989
What kinds of PMS symptoms tend to occur together?
PMS symptoms cluster into two groups: mood and behavior symptoms (which are most common) and physical and thinking symptoms (which are less common). These groups stay the same throughout the entire menstrual cycle.
What they did
One hundred women with PMS recorded 18 different symptoms every day for one complete menstrual cycle. Researchers analyzed which symptoms tended to occur together.
What they found
Two main symptom groups emerged. The first group contained mood and behavior symptoms and was most dominant. The second group contained physical and thinking symptoms. Mood symptoms stayed together throughout the cycle and were the most important symptoms. Behavior symptoms showed up most in the second half of the cycle and before menstruation. Physical symptoms were less common than mood symptoms. Thinking symptoms mainly showed up before menstruation.
What it means for you
Mood and behavior symptoms are the most important PMS symptoms to identify and treat. The main limitations are that there was no control group of healthy women to compare to, and the study only tracked one menstrual cycle.
100
women with PMS studied
18
symptoms tracked daily
2
main symptom groups identified
About the study
- Original title
- Characteristics of premenstrual syndrome
- Authors
- York R, Freeman E, Lowery B et al.
- Journal
- Obstetrics and gynecology
- Year
- 1989
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 100
- What was tested
- None (daily symptom tracking)
- Read the paper
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2927856/
Topics
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