Skip to content

Case-control study, 2019

Do negative thinking patterns increase the risk of PMS or PMDD?

Yes. Women with PMS and PMDD have more negative thinking patterns and process information differently than other women, especially during the luteal phase.

Moderate study design 293 women with regular menstrual cycles

What they did

Case-control study with 293 women with regular cycles. Researchers exposed women to failure during either the follicular or luteal phase and measured their thinking patterns, cognitive style, and mood response. They assessed depression and PMS/PMDD status.

What they found

Women with PMS/PMDD differed from controls in thinking patterns, how they described themselves, and information processing. During the luteal phase, women with PMS/PMDD who were not on birth control showed considerably greater sadness and irritation after experiencing failure. Biased information processing occurred only in the luteal phase and only in women with PMDD.

What it means for you

Negative thinking patterns may contribute to the development of PMS and PMDD. PMDD shares cognitive patterns with major depression. Birth control use may modify these patterns. This was a cross-sectional study without long-term follow-up, so we cannot prove whether thinking patterns cause PMS/PMDD or result from it.

293

Women with regular cycles

About the study

Original title
Negative cognitive styles as risk factors for the occurrence of PMS and PMDD
Authors
Śliwerski A, Bielawska-Batorowicz E
Journal
Journal of reproductive and infant psychology
Year
2019
Study design
Case-control study
Participants
293
What was tested
Experimental exposure to failure during follicular or luteal phase

Topics