Survey study, 1986
How common are premenstrual symptoms in women?
Very common. About 70% of women reported mental symptoms in combination with body swelling. Premenstrual anxiety increased with age.
What they did
Researchers surveyed 1083 Swedish women chosen at random. They used a questionnaire with a scoring system to measure premenstrual symptoms. They looked at mental symptoms (irritability, sadness, anxiety) and physical symptoms (swelling in different body areas).
What they found
Mental symptoms combined with body swelling were reported by 70% of women. Premenstrual anxiety was the only mental symptom that increased with age. Severity of symptoms was not affected by how many children a woman had or by abnormal cycle length. Absence from work during the premenstrual period was reported by a small number of women and was related to symptom severity.
What it means for you
Premenstrual discomfort is very common and affects most women to some degree. The main limit is that this studied only Swedish women, so results might be different in other countries.
1083
women surveyed
70%
with mental symptoms and body swelling
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual Complaints. I. Prevalence of Premenstrual Symptoms in a Swedish Urban Population
- Authors
- B Andersch, Christer Wendestam, Lennart Hahn et al.
- Journal
- Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology
- Year
- 1986
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 1,083
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.3109/01674828609016741
Topics
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