Survey study, 1989
When during the menstrual cycle do mood symptoms get worse for women with cyclical mood changes?
Women with cyclical mood changes showed that symptoms started and peaked during the luteal (late) phase of the menstrual cycle. The specific pattern of symptom changes across the cycle may differ depending on how severe each woman's mood cycling is.
What they did
Enrolled women with documented history of menstrual cycle-related mood changes. They completed daily symptom questionnaires and provided blood samples across three menstrual cycles. The researchers divided each cycle into five hormone-defined phases and tracked symptom timing and intensity.
What they found
Results confirmed the temporal association between the luteal phase and the onset of perimenstrual symptoms. The syndromal nature of menstrual cycle-related changes may differ for women who experience different intensities of cyclical mood changes. Different symptoms may follow different time courses across the cycle.
What it means for you
For women who experience cyclical mood changes, these changes are linked to the late phase of the cycle. Understanding the timing may help women anticipate and manage symptoms. The main limitation is that the study only included women who already had documented mood cycling, so findings may not apply to all women.
3
menstrual cycles tracked
5
hormone-defined cycle phases
About the study
- Original title
- Perimenstrual symptoms: time course of symptom intensity in relation to endocrinologically defined segments of the menstrual cycle
- Authors
- Schechter D, Bachmann GA, Vaitukaitis J et al.
- Journal
- Psychosomatic medicine
- Year
- 1989
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- Symptom tracking across menstrual cycles
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1097/00006842-198903000-00007
Topics
Related studies
Cohort study, 2026
What genetic factors are linked to premenstrual symptoms?
Randomised trial, 2026
Does aerobic or resistance exercise reduce anxiety in women with PMS?
Study, 2026
How do women with PMDD process emotions differently in their brains?
Systematic review, 2026
Why do some women experience mood changes linked to their menstrual cycle?
Case-control study, 2026
Do women with PMS handle emotions differently at different times of the cycle?
Survey study, 2025
Does PMDD or PMS affect quality of life?