Survey study, 2015
Do women with depression show signs of more cellular stress in their bodies?
Yes. Women with depressive symptoms had a higher level of a cellular stress marker than women without depressive symptoms, consistent across all menstrual cycle phases.
What they did
57 female university students from Japan (average age 22) were tested on three different days of their menstrual cycle: menstrual phase (days 1-3), proliferative phase (days 13-15), and secretory phase (days 24-26). Depression was assessed using a depression scale. A cellular stress marker (8-OHdG) was measured in urine.
What they found
Women with depressive symptoms had a stress marker level of 7.01 ng/mL, while women without depressive symptoms had 3.98 ng/mL. Menstrual cycle phase did not affect stress marker levels. The marker showed good ability to distinguish between women with and without depression across all cycle phases.
What it means for you
Women with depression show higher cellular stress markers throughout their menstrual cycle. This suggests the link between depression and cellular stress happens regardless of cycle timing. The study was small, done only in Japan, and measured only one stress marker.
57
women studied
7.01 ng/mL
stress marker with depression
3.98 ng/mL
stress marker without depression
About the study
- Original title
- Comparison of urinary levels of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine between young females with and without depressive symptoms during different menstrual phases
- Authors
- Iida T, Inoue K, Ito Y et al.
- Journal
- Acta medica Okayama
- Year
- 2015
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 57
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.18926/amo/53121
Topics
Related studies
Survey study, 2024
How common is PMDD in high school students and what factors are linked to it?
Survey study, 2024
Did COVID-19 stress cause changes in menstrual cycles?
Randomised trial, 2013
Does yoga reduce PMS symptoms and physical stress markers?
Cohort study, 2026
Is there a link between excessive anxiety and mood changes during the menstrual cycle?
Survey study, 2025
Are mental health problems linked to period pain and lack of support?
Survey study, 2024
Does menstruation increase anxiety, stress, and depression?