Study, 1991
Does how your blood responds to stress change during your menstrual cycle?
Stress affects your blood clotting markers similarly in both cycle phases. The changes are more pronounced before your period.
What they did
Nine healthy, non-smoking women were studied during both the follicular phase (early cycle) and luteal phase (late cycle). They completed a 20-minute mental stress test. Researchers took blood samples before, during, and after the stress test.
What they found
Mental stress caused heart rate, blood pressure, and stress chemicals to increase. Several blood markers changed in response to stress: white blood cell count, hematocrit, fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor, and t-PA. These changes were more pronounced during the luteal phase. Factor VII clotting activity did not change significantly in either phase.
What it means for you
Stress affects your blood system, and your menstrual cycle phase changes how strong that response is. The response is stronger before your period. This pattern is different from what happens in men. The study is small with only 9 women, so results need confirmation in larger studies.
9
women studied
20
minutes of mental stress test
About the study
- Original title
- Hemostatic responses to mental stress during the menstrual cycle
- Authors
- Jern C, Manhem K, Eriksson E et al.
- Journal
- Thrombosis and haemostasis
- Year
- 1991
- Study design
- Study
- What was tested
- 20-minute mental stress test.
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1055/s-0038-1646469