--- title: Are women with premenstrual emotional symptoms more likely to have depression? description: Yes, women with premenstrual emotional symptoms were twice as likely as controls to have a history of serious depression and twice as likely to have a family url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/premenstrual-symptoms-and-depression-in-a-university-population-1975/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Are women with premenstrual emotional symptoms more likely to have depression? Survey study, 1975 # Are women with premenstrual emotional symptoms more likely to have depression? Yes, women with premenstrual emotional symptoms were twice as likely as controls to have a history of serious depression and twice as likely to have a family member with depression. This is a small study but with clearer definitions than some earlier research. Early or limited evidence 105 college freshmen ## What they did Cross-sectional study of 105 college freshmen. Researchers prospectively studied the link between premenstrual syndrome based on emotional symptoms and primary affective disorder. They looked at participants' personal and family history of depression and monitored them for one year. ## What they found Students with premenstrual symptoms were twice as likely as controls to have a history of serious depressive episodes and twice as likely to have a close family member with depression. Seven percent of women with premenstrual emotional symptoms had an affective episode during the following year, compared to none of the controls. Premenstrual syndrome did not interfere with academic performance. ## What it means for you PMS with emotional symptoms appears linked to depression history and family depression risk. It does not seem to affect school performance. The main limitation is the small sample size and that only one university population was studied. 105 college freshmen studied 2x likelihood of serious depressive history 7% with affective episode in the following year ## About the study Original title Premenstrual symptoms and depression in a university population Authors Schuckit MA, Daly V, Herrman G et al. Journal Diseases of the nervous system Year 1975 Study design Survey study What was tested None; this was observational research Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1236786/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1236786/) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Major depressive disorder](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-major-depression/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/) 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 What are premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder? Survey study, 2024 How common are PMS and PMDD in young Turkish women and what factors are linked to them? Cohort study, 2015 How common are PMS and PMDD in young women, and are they connected to depression? Survey study, 2026 Why is understanding PMS awareness in teenage girls important? Survey study, 2020 How common is PMDD among secondary school students in Ethiopia? Survey study, 2016 Do women with PMDD have more difficulty regulating their emotions? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗