--- title: Do women with bipolar disorder who have premenstrual mood changes do worse than those without? description: Yes. Among women with bipolar disorder, those with premenstrual mood changes had significantly more severe symptoms, relapsed faster, and had a worse course t url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/premenstrual-mood-exacerbation-linked-to-severe-bipolar-symptoms-2011/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do women with bipolar disorder who have premenstrual mood changes do worse than those without? Cohort study, 2011 # Do women with bipolar disorder who have premenstrual mood changes do worse than those without? Yes. Among women with bipolar disorder, those with premenstrual mood changes had significantly more severe symptoms, relapsed faster, and had a worse course than those without premenstrual changes. Moderate study design 293 women aged 18-40 with bipolar disorder (191 with premenstrual exacerbation, 102 without) ## What they did One-year follow-up study of women with bipolar disorder. Of 932 women in the STEP-BD program aged 18-40, 293 were followed after excluding those with gynecological surgery. Participants were asked if they currently experience depression symptoms or mood swings around their menstrual period. 191 women said yes (premenstrual exacerbation) and 102 said no. Both groups were followed for one year. ## What they found Women with premenstrual exacerbation had shorter time to relapse to subsyndromal episodes (about half the time compared to those without premenstrual exacerbation). They also had more severe depressive and mood elevation symptoms during the one-year follow-up, indicating greater symptom burden. Time to relapse to full syndrome episodes did not differ between groups. ## What it means for you Among women with bipolar disorder, noticing mood changes before menstruation may signal that bipolar symptoms will be more severe and harder to control. This could help doctors identify which women need more intensive treatment. However, this finding applies only to women with bipolar disorder, not to women with general PMS. 293 women with bipolar disorder 191 with premenstrual mood exacerbation 1 year duration of follow-up ## About the study Original title Premenstrual Mood Exacerbation Linked to Severe Bipolar Symptoms Authors Mark Moran Journal Psychiatric News Year 2011 Study design Cohort study Participants 293 What was tested None - observational follow-up study Read the paper [doi.org/10.1176/pn.46.6.psychnews_46_6_17_2](https://doi.org/10.1176/pn.46.6.psychnews_46_6_17_2) ## Topics [Premenstrual exacerbation (PME)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pme/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Bipolar disorder](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-bipolar/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Study, 2026 Do anxiety and depression get worse before your period if you already have a mental health condition? Survey study, 2026 What is the true rate of PMDD, and does it worsen mental health conditions? Review, 2025 How does the menstrual cycle affect psychiatric symptoms like depression and anxiety? Randomised trial, 2021 Do women with depression or bipolar disorder experience worse symptoms before or during their menstrual cycle? Survey study, 2006 Does the menstrual cycle affect mood disorders? Review, 2024 What do brain wave patterns show about PMS and PMDD? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗