---
title: How does PMDD and PMS affect thinking skills across the menstrual cycle?
description: Women with PMDD had larger changes in thinking skills between cycle phases than those with PMS. Language and abstract thinking improved during the follicular
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/pre-and-post-menstruation-cognitive-functioning-in-women-with-remenstrual-2025/
---

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- How does PMDD and PMS affect thinking skills across the menstrual cycle?

Case-control study, 2025

# How does PMDD and PMS affect thinking skills across the menstrual cycle?

Women with PMDD had larger changes in thinking skills between cycle phases than those with PMS. Language and abstract thinking improved during the follicular phase in all groups.

 Early or limited evidence

60 women with regular cycles (mean age 24.47), divided into control, PMS, and PMDD groups

## What they did

Case-control study. Sixty women (mean age 24.47) were grouped as controls, PMS, or PMDD. They took a cognitive assessment during two menstrual phases: luteal and follicular.

## What they found

PMDD group showed the most significant cognitive differences between phases (p < .001, η²p = .25). Language and abstraction significantly improved during the follicular phase (p < .000 for language, p < .001 for abstraction, η²p = .25). The luteal phase showed the most cognitive differences across all groups.

## What it means for you

PMDD causes larger changes in thinking skills across the cycle than PMS. A new finding is that language and abstract thinking improve during the follicular phase. The study was small with non-random sampling and tool limitations, so results need confirmation.

60

Total women studied

p < .001

PMDD cognitive phase differences

24.47

Mean age in years

## About the study

Original title Pre and Post Menstruation Cognitive Functioning in Women with remenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, Premenstrual Syndrome and Controls: A Quasi Experimental Study Authors Rabbani H, Irfan S, Khanum S Journal BMC women's health Year 2025 Study design Case-control study Participants 60 What was tested None Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1186/s12905-025-04103-5](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-025-04103-5)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Quality of life and daily functioning](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-quality-of-life/)

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## Related studies

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Cohort study, 2017

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Case-control study, 2012

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