Cohort study, 2000
Does the menstrual cycle affect how well someone breathes?
No, in this study of healthy women without asthma, the menstrual cycle had little effect on lung function. Breathing varied randomly throughout the cycle and was not related to premenstrual symptoms.
What they did
Thirty-one healthy women with an average age of 22 measured their breathing (peak expiratory flow) every morning and evening for at least one menstrual cycle. They also rated 15 premenstrual symptoms daily on a scale of 0-3.
What they found
Over half the women (58.1%) had typical premenstrual symptoms, but peak expiratory flow varied randomly throughout the cycle with minimal variation (4.17% in the morning, 3.97% in the evening). Only 11.3% of the 124 comparisons between breathing and symptoms showed statistical significance.
What it means for you
The menstrual cycle does not significantly affect breathing in healthy nonasthmatic women. The main limit is this was a small study of mostly young Asian women (28 of 31), so results may not apply to all groups.
31
women who completed the study
58.1%
had classic premenstrual symptoms
11.3%
of correlations were significant
About the study
- Original title
- Peak expiratory flow rate and premenstrual symptoms in healthy nonasthmatic women
- Authors
- Chong E, Ensom MH
- Journal
- Pharmacotherapy
- Year
- 2000
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1592/phco.20.19.1409.34857
Topics
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