Cohort study, 1984
Do women really have bigger emotional changes before their period?
Physical symptoms peaked before and during menstruation, but emotional changes happened randomly throughout the cycle. Women may notice emotions more around their period because they expect to.
What they did
118 women reported their symptoms daily without being told the study was about the menstrual cycle. The researchers looked for patterns in both physical symptoms (like bloating) and emotional symptoms (like mood changes) over time.
What they found
Physical symptoms peaked before and during menstruation in a clear cyclic pattern. Emotional symptoms occurred randomly throughout the cycle, not linked to when the period came. The researchers suggest women may notice and remember emotional changes more around their period because they expect them at that time, not because they actually happen more often then.
What it means for you
Emotional changes might not actually be more common before your period. Instead, you may just notice them more because you expect them. This questions whether emotional changes are really a core part of PMS. The study did not specifically include women diagnosed with PMS, which is a limitation.
118
women in the study
daily
frequency of symptom reporting
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual emotional changes in normal women: fact or fiction?
- Authors
- Slade P
- Journal
- Journal of psychosomatic research
- Year
- 1984
- Study design
- Cohort study
- What was tested
- None - observation only
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/0022-3999(84)90034-5