Survey study, 2002
Are psychiatric hospital admissions linked to the menstrual cycle?
Yes. About half of the women were admitted during the late luteal or early menstrual phase. Women with schizophrenia who were not suicidal or aggressive were admitted only in the postovulatory phase.
What they did
Researchers studied 33 women with a documented history of chronic mental illness (defined as two or more prior psychiatric hospitalizations). They worked out which phase of the menstrual cycle each woman was in when she was admitted to hospital and looked at why she was admitted.
What they found
Seventeen women (52%) were admitted during the late luteal or early menstrual phase. Women with schizophrenia whose behavior did not involve suicide or aggression were admitted only during the postovulatory phase.
What it means for you
The study suggests that the postovulatory phase may be a riskier time for women with mental illness. This is a small study with only 33 women, and it only looked at women sick enough to be hospitalized, so it may not represent all women with mental illness.
33
women studied
52%
admitted in late luteal/early menstrual phase
About the study
- Original title
- Chronic mental illness and the menstrual cycle
- Authors
- Lande RG, Karamchandani V
- Journal
- The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association
- Year
- 2002
- Study design
- Survey study
- Read the paper
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12501982/
Topics
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