---
title: How common is premenstrual syndrome in female university students?
description: PMS is very common: 85.5% of students experienced symptoms regularly. We have low confidence since this is one study from one university in Nigeria.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/premenstrual-syndrome-prevalence-in-students-of-the-university-of-calabar-2010/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- How common is premenstrual syndrome in female university students?

Survey study, 2010

# How common is premenstrual syndrome in female university students?

PMS is very common: 85.5% of students experienced symptoms regularly. We have low confidence since this is one study from one university in Nigeria.

 Early or limited evidence

200 female university students aged 16-31 in Nigeria who had never been pregnant

## What they did

Survey of 200 consecutive female university students aged 16-31 who had never been pregnant at the University of Calabar. Women reported whether they experienced PMS symptoms.

## What they found

85.5% regularly experienced symptoms suggestive of PMS. Most common symptoms were lower abdominal pain (86%), pimples or puffy face (67%), tender or painfully engorged breast (63%), and depression or tension (55%). Least frequent were back ache (14%) and common cold (11%). 42% complained of severe abdominal pain.

## What it means for you

Most university students experience PMS symptoms with abdominal pain being very common. The study is from one university in Nigeria, so results may differ in other countries.

200

women studied

85.5%

experienced PMS symptoms

42%

complained of severe abdominal pain

## About the study

Original title Premenstrual syndrome: Prevalence in students of the University of Calabar, Nigeria Authors AB Antai, WA Udezi, EE Ekanem et al. Journal African Journal of Biomedical Research Year 2010 Study design Survey study Participants 200 What was tested None Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.4314/ajbr.v7i2.54067](https://doi.org/10.4314/ajbr.v7i2.54067)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[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

Randomised trial, 2026

Does Kundalini Reiki help reduce PMS symptoms and improve quality of life?

Study, 2026

What are premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder?

Cohort study, 2025

What causes migraine in female college students who have PMS?

Randomised trial, 2021

Does hypnotherapy reduce pain and emotional distress in women with PMDD?

Survey study, 2026

Does eating more ultra-processed food make PMS symptoms worse?

Survey study, 2026

How common is PMDD in Russian medical students, and what are its symptoms?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗