Study, 1984
Do women with premenstrual tension have different hormone patterns?
Yes. Women with premenstrual tension had measurable differences in their hormone patterns compared to women without the condition.
What they did
They measured urinary oestrogen and pregnanediol daily throughout the menstrual cycle in 30 women with premenstrual tension (19 with premenstrual syndrome and 11 with menstrual distress). They compared results to 86 controls and a subset matched for age and parity.
What they found
The women with premenstrual tension had significantly lower pregnanediol values during both the follicular and luteal phases. The rise in pregnanediol occurred later than normal compared to the pre-ovulatory oestrogen peak. They also had lower than normal pre-ovulatory peak oestrogen and either very high or very low oestrogen values in the luteal phase. Other abnormalities included anovulatory cycles (no ovulation) and short luteal phases.
What it means for you
Women with premenstrual tension have measurable hormone abnormalities that suggest real biological differences in how their ovaries function. The main limits are the small sample size and that this describes what is different but does not explain what causes these differences or how to treat them based on these findings.
30
Women with premenstrual tension studied
86
Control women without the condition
116
Total women (30 patients plus 86 controls)
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual Tension-Hormonal Profiles
- Authors
- Lorraine Dennerstein, C. Spencer-Gardner, J. B. Brown et al.
- Journal
- Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology
- Year
- 1984
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 30
- What was tested
- None - observational hormone measurement study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.3109/01674828409023851
Topics
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