Cohort study, 2016
Does a history of abuse affect how sensitive women with PMDD are to hormonal changes?
Yes. Women with PMDD who experienced physical or sexual abuse show stronger links between cyclical hormone changes and mood symptoms. This suggests trauma may increase vulnerability to hormone effects.
What they did
66 women with menstrually related mood disorder provided blood samples and mood ratings across one menstrual cycle. Researchers asked about lifetime physical and sexual abuse. They analyzed whether cyclical changes in estradiol and progesterone (female hormones) predicted mood changes differently in women with and without abuse history.
What they found
27% reported physical abuse and 29% reported sexual abuse. In women with physical abuse history, cyclical progesterone increases predicted greater mood and relationship problems in the following three days. In women with sexual abuse history, cyclical estradiol increases predicted greater anxiety in the following three days.
What it means for you
Trauma history may make women with PMDD more sensitive to their hormones. This could help explain why PMDD feels worse for some women, particularly those with abuse history. Main limitations: small sample size (66 women) and this was observational, so we cannot prove trauma causes increased hormone sensitivity.
66
Number of women studied
27%
Reported physical abuse
29%
Reported sexual abuse
About the study
- Original title
- Histories of abuse predict stronger within-person covariation of ovarian steroids and mood symptoms in women with menstrually related mood disorder
- Authors
- Eisenlohr-Moul TA, Rubinow DR, Schiller CE et al.
- Journal
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Year
- 2016
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Participants
- 66
- What was tested
- None; this was an observational study examining history and hormone sensitivity
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.01.026
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