Survey study, 1989
How common is premenstrual syndrome in female nursing students?
Only 6% of nursing students met criteria for premenstrual syndrome, with significant changes in just 3 symptom areas. Findings may vary by culture.
What they did
Cross-sectional study of 48 female nursing students of reproductive age. Each woman used a retrospective rating method to report cognitive, affective, and physical changes during the premenstrual phase compared to the rest of the cycle, rating 17 items on numerical and visual scales.
What they found
Significant changes were seen in 3 of the 17 distressing items. Premenstrual Syndrome, as defined by DSM-IIIR criteria, was identified in 6% of the women. The study discusses varying patterns of premenstrual changes and their prevalence in sociocultural context.
What it means for you
Premenstrual syndrome is relatively uncommon in this group. Findings may reflect cultural and social factors. Major limitations include retrospective recall rather than real-time tracking and small sample size.
48
Nursing students studied
6%
Meeting PMS criteria
3
Symptom items with significant changes
About the study
- Original title
- Cultural variations of premenstrual experience
- Authors
- Chandra PS, Chaturvedi SK
- Journal
- The International journal of social psychiatry
- Year
- 1989
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- None; descriptive study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1177/002076408903500407
Topics
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