---
title: How common are PMS and PMDD in college athletes and do they affect athletic performance?
description: About 8.6% of Japanese college athletes have moderate to severe PMS and 2.9% have PMDD. Nearly half of athletes (44.3%) said their athletic performance suffer
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/premenstrual-syndrome-and-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-in-japanese-collegiate-2015/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- How common are PMS and PMDD in college athletes and do they affect athletic performance?

Survey study, 2015

# How common are PMS and PMDD in college athletes and do they affect athletic performance?

About 8.6% of Japanese college athletes have moderate to severe PMS and 2.9% have PMDD. Nearly half of athletes (44.3%) said their athletic performance suffered during their cycle.

 Early or limited evidence

232 female collegiate athletes in Osaka, Japan

## What they did

Cross-sectional survey of 232 female college athletes at a university in Osaka, Japan. They asked about premenstrual symptoms and how these affected their sports performance.

## What they found

8.6% met criteria for moderate to severe PMS, 2.9% for PMDD. 44.3% of athletes reported their performance suffered. Elite athletes were at higher risk of performance drops, as were those with difficulty concentrating and fatigue.

## What it means for you

Premenstrual symptoms can affect both daily life and sports performance in college athletes. The main limit is this was one university in Japan and the study is cross-sectional, so we cannot prove the symptoms caused the performance drops.

8.6%

moderate to severe PMS

2.9%

PMDD

44.3%

athletic performance affected

## About the study

Original title Premenstrual Syndrome and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder in Japanese Collegiate Athletes Authors Takeda T, Imoto Y, Nagasawa H et al. Journal Journal of pediatric and adolescent gynecology Year 2015 Study design Survey study Participants 232 What was tested None. This was an observational study. Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/j.jpag.2014.07.006](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpag.2014.07.006)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/)[Athletes and sport](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-athletes/)

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

Survey study, 2019

What lifestyle and sleep habits are linked to PMS in teenage girls?

Survey study, 2016

Does eating fish help reduce PMS or PMDD symptoms in female athletes?

Survey study, 2016

Does PMS increase the risk of stress fractures in teenage athletes?

Systematic review, 2025

Are PMS and PMDD more common in highly trained female athletes than in women who don't train intensively?

Systematic review, 2025

How common are PMS, PMDD, and painful periods in nursing students, and do they affect their schooling?

Systematic review, 2023

How common are menstrual cycle problems and PMS or PMDD in female athletes?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗