Survey study, 2011
Do women with PMDD have higher cholesterol levels?
Women with PMDD had higher average cholesterol (180.82 mg/dL) than women without PMDD (162.45 mg/dL). About 24% of women with PMDD had high cholesterol versus none of the controls. However, the sample was very small.
What they did
Researchers measured premenstrual serum cholesterol levels in 34 women with PMDD and 20 women without PMDD.
What they found
The PMDD group had a mean cholesterol of 180.82 +/- 34.47 mg/dL versus 162.45 +/- 21.29 mg/dL in controls (p=0.036). High cholesterol above 200 mg/dL was found in 23.53% (8 out of 34) of the PMDD group and 0% of controls (p=0.019).
What it means for you
Higher cholesterol in PMDD may suggest a link between PMDD and anxiety-like disorders. However, the sample was very small, so this finding may not be reliable. The study did not account for diet, medications, or other factors that affect cholesterol, so we cannot be sure the difference comes from PMDD.
180.82
Mean cholesterol in PMDD group (mg/dL)
162.45
Mean cholesterol in controls (mg/dL)
23.53%
High cholesterol in PMDD group
About the study
- Original title
- Elevated serum cholesterol levels in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder
- Authors
- Hsiao MC, Liu CY, Hsu SC et al.
- Journal
- International journal of psychiatry in medicine
- Year
- 2011
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 34
- What was tested
- Measurement of premenstrual serum cholesterol levels
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.2190/pm.42.1.f
Topics
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