---
title: What do Brazilian women believe about PMS and what symptoms do they report?
description: Most Brazilian women (96.1%) had heard of PMS, and 60.3% thought they had it. The most commonly reported symptoms were nervousness and anxiety (76.4%) and moo
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/premenstrual-syndrome-as-reported-by-brazilian-women-2010/
---

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- What do Brazilian women believe about PMS and what symptoms do they report?

Survey study, 2010

# What do Brazilian women believe about PMS and what symptoms do they report?

Most Brazilian women (96.1%) had heard of PMS, and 60.3% thought they had it. The most commonly reported symptoms were nervousness and anxiety (76.4%) and mood swings (55.7%).

 Early or limited evidence

1,053 women aged 18-40 in Brazil recruited from public health services and universities

## What they did

Cross-sectional study of 1,053 women aged 18-40 in six major Brazilian cities. Participants were recruited from public health clinics or university staff and faculty. Researchers asked them about their awareness of PMS, their beliefs about it, and their symptoms.

## What they found

96.1% had heard of PMS. 65.4% believed all or almost all women experience it. 87.5% said PMS symptoms occur before menstruation. 60.3% thought they had PMS at the time of interview. The most common emotional symptoms reported were nervousness or anxiety (76.4%) and mood swings or crying (55.7%). The most common physical symptoms were breast pain, swelling, or tenderness (37.3%) and period cramps (45.4%).

## What it means for you

PMS awareness is high in Brazil, and many women report thinking they have it. Anxiety and mood changes are the most commonly reported symptoms. However, this study asked what women think they have, not formal medical diagnosis using standard criteria, so some women may misidentify their symptoms. It tells us about perceptions rather than actual diagnosed PMS.

1,053

women interviewed

96.1%

had heard of PMS

76.4%

reported nervousness or anxiety

## About the study

Original title Premenstrual syndrome as reported by Brazilian women Authors Petta CA, Osis MJ, de Pádua KS et al. Journal International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics Year 2010 Study design Survey study Participants 1,053 What was tested No intervention; survey of beliefs and symptoms Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2009.07.041](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2009.07.041)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Stigma, attitudes and culture](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-stigma-culture/)

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