Case-control study, 2004
Are reproductive hormones abnormal in women with premenstrual dysphoria?
No. Women with premenstrual dysphoria had normal hormone levels before and after stimulation, similar to healthy women.
What they did
Case-control study comparing 11 women with confirmed premenstrual dysphoria to 20 healthy controls. Researchers measured baseline luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone levels, then injected 100 micrograms of GnRH intravenously and measured hormone responses during both the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle.
What they found
No significant differences were found between women with dysphoria and controls in baseline or stimulated FSH or LH levels. In both groups, stimulated FSH increased and stimulated LH decreased during the follicular compared to the luteal phase.
What it means for you
This suggests premenstrual dysphoria is not caused by abnormalities in how the pituitary and ovaries regulate hormones. However, the study had a small sample size (only 11 women with dysphoria), which limits confidence in the findings.
11
Women with premenstrual dysphoria
20
Healthy control women
100
Micrograms of GnRH injected
About the study
- Original title
- Gonadotropin-releasing hormone-stimulated gonadotropin levels in women with premenstrual dysphoria
- Authors
- Smith MJ, Schmidt PJ, Su TP et al.
- Journal
- Gynecological endocrinology : the official journal of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology
- Year
- 2004
- Study design
- Case-control study
- Participants
- 11
- What was tested
- GnRH stimulation test
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1080/09513590400018199
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