---
title: Does PMS come from a broken stress hormone system? | Niyora
description: Women with PMS had a few small differences in their stress hormone (cortisol) responses compared to women without PMS, but their overall daily cortisol output
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-function-in-patients-with-the-premenstrual-1990/
---

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- Does PMS come from a broken stress hormone system?

Survey study, 1990

# Does PMS come from a broken stress hormone system?

Women with PMS had a few small differences in their stress hormone (cortisol) responses compared to women without PMS, but their overall daily cortisol output was normal. This suggests only mild, temporary hormone shifts that the body seems able to correct on its own.

 Early or limited evidence

Women diagnosed with PMS and control women with no current psychiatric disorder (sample size not given in the abstract)

## What they did

Researchers compared the stress hormone (HPA) system in women diagnosed with PMS and in control women with no psychiatric disorder, using standard criteria and a structured interview. They measured urinary cortisol, and blood cortisol and ACTH before and after a CRH injection, comparing the first and second half of the cycle. Sample size is not stated.

## What they found

Urinary free cortisol was the same in PMS and normal women, with no difference between cycle phases in either group. However, PMS patients had significantly lower basal evening blood cortisol, and a significantly bigger cortisol response after the CRH injection. A normal link in healthy women, between the ACTH/cortisol response to CRH and later-cycle progesterone, was missing in PMS patients.

## What it means for you

The results suggest women with PMS may have brief, episodic blips in their stress hormone system that the body's own checks and balances manage to fix, which may explain why their periods stay regular, unlike in depression or anorexia. This is an older, small lab comparison with no stated sample size, so it cannot prove PMS is caused by this pattern.

## About the study

Original title Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function in patients with the premenstrual syndrome Authors Rabin DS, Schmidt PJ, Campbell G et al. Journal The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism Year 1990 Study design Survey study What was tested None tested as treatment; a CRH injection was used as a diagnostic hormone-stimulation test Read the paper [doi.org/10.1210/jcem-71-5-1158](https://doi.org/10.1210/jcem-71-5-1158)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Eating disorders](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-eating-disorders/)[Schizophrenia and psychosis](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-psychosis/)

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## Related studies

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Case-control study, 2006

Are hormone-related chemicals different in women with mood disorders during the menstrual cycle?

Cohort study, 2026

Does brain structure differ between women with PMDD and healthy controls?

Survey study, 2023

Do women with PMS have slower reaction times and mood changes than others?

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