Survey study, 1987
Are menstrual cycle features and premenstrual symptoms inherited?
Menarche age, cycle regularity, and premenstrual symptom reporting may be inherited, but menstrual cycle length may not be. The findings should be interpreted cautiously.
What they did
462 female twin pairs completed questionnaires about menstrual cycles. Researchers used statistical models to separate genetic from environmental factors.
What they found
Age of menarche, menstrual cycle regularity, and premenstrual symptom reporting showed signs of being heritable. Menstrual cycle length did not. Results were not fully replicated in the smaller of the two samples studied.
What it means for you
Some aspects of PMS and menstrual patterns may run in families, but the study has limits. The findings were not consistent across both groups, and asking women to remember past cycles has been questioned as a method.
462
twin pairs studied
two
samples analyzed separately
not all
variables replicated in smaller sample
About the study
- Original title
- Genetic and environmental variation in menstrual cycle: histories of two British twin samples
- Authors
- van den Akker OB, Stein GS, Neale MC et al.
- Journal
- Acta geneticae medicae et gemellologiae
- Year
- 1987
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 462
- What was tested
- None
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1017/s0001566000006929
Topics
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