Case-control study, 1997
Do women over 40 with PMS experience more stress than women without PMS?
Yes. Women with PMS had more negative life events, more difficulty with anger, and more concerns about self-control than women without PMS. They also showed higher physical stress responses.
What they did
Researchers compared women over 40 with PMS to women with low-severity symptoms. They measured physical stress responses, stress hormones, life events, anger, self-control, and sensitivity to others.
What they found
Women with PMS experienced more negative life events, had more difficulty managing anger, and had more concerns about self- and social control. They showed increased physical arousal and stress responses measured by skin conductance and muscle tension, with higher norepinephrine levels. However, their heart rate responses to stress were dampened.
What it means for you
PMS in women over 40 appears connected to experiencing stress, managing anger, and self-control. Stress management and anger management may help. Limitation: case-control design is less definitive than a randomized trial, and results are only for women over 40.
About the study
- Original title
- PMS after 40: persistence of a stress-related symptom pattern
- Authors
- Woods NF, Lentz M, Mitchell ES et al.
- Journal
- Research in nursing & health
- Year
- 1997
- Study design
- Case-control study
Topics
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