---
title: Does depression get worse during certain parts of the menstrual cycle?
description: Depression-like behavior was stronger during the part of the cycle when progesterone is absent, and stress made this worse. This might help explain why women
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/inescapable-shocks-accentuate-fluctuations-of-forced-swimming-immobility-in-1997/
---

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- Does depression get worse during certain parts of the menstrual cycle?

Lab study, 1997

# Does depression get worse during certain parts of the menstrual cycle?

Depression-like behavior was stronger during the part of the cycle when progesterone is absent, and stress made this worse. This might help explain why women with depression feel worse during the premenstrual phase.

 Early or limited evidence

Female rats

## What they did

Researchers tested depression-like behavior in female rats at different points in their estrous cycle using a swimming test. Some rats were exposed to stress (inescapable shocks) while others were not.

## What they found

Rats showed more depression-like behavior during the low-progesterone phase (diestrus) compared to the high-estrogen phase (estrus). Stress increased this depression-like behavior, but only during diestrus when progesterone was absent. The difference between the two cycle phases became more pronounced with stress.

## What it means for you

The timing of the menstrual cycle seems to affect how depression shows up in this animal model, particularly during the phase when progesterone is low. This is animal research, so it's unclear whether the same pattern occurs in humans with depression and PMS.

## About the study

Original title Inescapable shocks accentuate fluctuations of forced swimming immobility in different phases of the rat estrous cycle Authors Marván ML, Santana S, Chávez Chávez L et al. Journal Archives of medical research Year 1997 Study design Lab study What was tested Inescapable shock stress exposure Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9291632/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9291632/)

## 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/)[SSRIs and antidepressants](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-ssri/)

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