Survey study, 1985
Do the same premenstrual symptoms happen every month in the same woman?
No. Most symptoms vary from month to month. Only 3 menstrual symptoms (backache, headache, cramps) and 5 premenstrual symptoms (backache, cold sweats, fatigue, depression, tension) showed consistent reporting across two months.
What they did
Researchers asked 63 healthy women to record their symptoms daily in health diaries for 2 months. They checked which symptoms appeared during menstrual and premenstrual phases in both months.
What they found
Only 9 symptoms total showed consistency across both cycles. In the menstrual phase: backache, headache, and cramps were consistent. In the premenstrual phase: backache, cold sweats, fatigue, depression, and tension were consistent. Many other symptoms appeared throughout the cycle, not just during menstrual or premenstrual phases, which explains why most symptoms did not repeat the same way in both months.
What it means for you
Symptoms change from month to month. Tracking symptoms for only one month as a baseline or to evaluate treatment may give inaccurate results.
63
women tracked for 2 months
9
symptoms consistent across both cycles
About the study
- Original title
- Concordance of perimenstrual symptoms across two cycles
- Authors
- Shaver JF, Woods NF
- Journal
- Research in nursing & health
- Year
- 1985
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 63
- What was tested
- None - symptom diary
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1002/nur.4770080403
Topics
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