Cohort study, 2009
Does ovulation affect mood changes during the menstrual cycle in healthy women?
Healthy women showed small mood changes across their cycle regardless of whether they ovulated, though women who did not ovulate had more variable but less negative mood overall. Mood changes did not depend on how long the luteal phase was.
What they did
62 healthy women initially ovulating tracked ovulation, exercise, and mood daily for one year. Basal body temperature was used to determine the start of the luteal phase. Women rated feeling depressed, anxious, and angry or frustrated on a scale from 0 (absent) to 4 (very intense).
What they found
Of 739 cycles classified: 532 (72%) were normally ovulatory, 185 (25%) were ovulatory with a short luteal phase (less than 10 days), and 22 (3%) were anovulatory. Minor cyclic mood changes were present in both ovulatory and anovulatory cycles. In anovulatory cycles, mood tended to be more variable but less negative, with a time course that differed from ovulatory cycles. Mood scores did not differ based on luteal phase length or hormone levels.
What it means for you
Even without ovulation, mood still changes across the cycle, but the pattern is somewhat different. This suggests factors beyond ovulation and hormones influence mood cyclicity. In women with very severe PMS, patterns appear to be amplifications of normal experiences. The study is observational from one research group.
765
menstrual cycles tracked across the year
72%
normally ovulatory cycles
25%
ovulatory cycles with short luteal phase
About the study
- Original title
- Ovulation disturbances and mood across the menstrual cycles of healthy women
- Authors
- Harvey AT, Hitchcock CL, Prior JC
- Journal
- Journal of psychosomatic obstetrics and gynaecology
- Year
- 2009
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Participants
- 62
- What was tested
- None (observational tracking)
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.3109/01674820903276438
Topics
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