---
title: What causes psychosis linked to the menstrual cycle in adolescents?
description: Two cases showed acute psychosis in the days before menstruation that came and went with each cycle. One improved with a hormonal contraceptive, and the other
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/perimenstrual-psychosis-among-female-adolescents-two-case-reports-and-an-update-2003/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- What causes psychosis linked to the menstrual cycle in adolescents?

Case report, 2003

# What causes psychosis linked to the menstrual cycle in adolescents?

Two cases showed acute psychosis in the days before menstruation that came and went with each cycle. One improved with a hormonal contraceptive, and the other improved on its own. The link may involve anovulation, which means not having regular ovulation.

 Early or limited evidence

Two Israeli adolescent girls

## What they did

Described two cases of Israeli adolescent girls who had psychosis linked to their menstrual cycle. Doctors did extensive medical tests to rule out other causes.

## What they found

Both girls developed acute psychosis a few days before their period, which subsided after bleeding started, then returned again in the next cycle. One had anovulatory cycles. Psychiatric medications did not help either girl. One improved with a progesterone-estrogen contraceptive within several cycles. The other improved on her own within four cycles. After 2-3 years of follow-up, both had complete remission and did not need psychiatric medication.

## What it means for you

Psychosis tied to the menstrual cycle in adolescents may be related to hormone level changes and irregular ovulation. Hormonal contraceptives may help, and symptoms can improve even without treatment. This is two cases, so we cannot know how common this is or what works best.

2

cases reported

4

cycles to remission in case 2

2-3

years of follow-up

## About the study

Original title Perimenstrual psychosis among female adolescents: two case reports and an update of the literature Authors Stein D, Blumensohn R, Witztum E Journal International journal of psychiatry in medicine Year 2003 Study design Case report What was tested Progesterone-estrogen contraceptive (one case) Read the paper [doi.org/10.2190/6e0c-52xc-ggwq-dpu4](https://doi.org/10.2190/6e0c-52xc-ggwq-dpu4)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual psychosis](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-menstrual-psychosis/)[Schizophrenia and psychosis](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-psychosis/)[Adolescents and young people](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-adolescents/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

## Related studies

Case report, 2013

Can severe mood changes around a period be an early sign of bipolar disorder?

Case report, 2012

Do antipsychotic medications help psychosis that only happens around menstruation?

Case report, 2023

What is menstrual psychosis?

Case report, 2022

Can PMDD cause brief psychotic episodes in young adolescents?

Case report, 2022

Can aripiprazole prevent menstrual psychosis?

Case report, 2022

What is cyclic menstrual psychosis in adolescents?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗