Case-control study, 2019
Do women with PMS have different stress hormone levels when they wake up?
Women with PMS showed a flattened stress hormone response upon waking compared to healthy women, especially at 45 and 60 minutes after waking. A blunted cortisol response may be linked to PMS development, but the study is small.
What they did
Researchers compared 32 women with PMS to 36 healthy women. They collected saliva samples at 0, 30, 45, and 60 minutes after waking during two menstrual cycle phases: mid-follicular and late-luteal.
What they found
Women with PMS had a significantly attenuated cortisol awakening response compared to healthy controls, especially at 45 and 60 minutes after awakening, regardless of menstrual cycle phase. There was a significant negative correlation between PMS severity and cortisol rise in the mid-follicular phase.
What it means for you
The blunted stress hormone response upon waking may be a biological marker of PMS risk and could explain why some women are vulnerable to PMS. However, this is a small study of mostly young women, and it does not explain whether this difference causes PMS or results from it. Larger, more diverse studies are needed.
32
women with PMS
36
healthy controls
45 and 60 min
time points with most attenuated response
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual syndrome is associated with altered cortisol awakening response
- Authors
- Hou L, Huang Y, Zhou R
- Journal
- Stress (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
- Year
- 2019
- Study design
- Case-control study
- What was tested
- None; observational study
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1080/10253890.2019.1608943
Topics
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