--- title: Do symptoms change across the menstrual cycle and does birth control affect this? description: Symptoms are lowest in the early cycle phase and increase before and during menstruation. Over 40 percent of women show a 30 percent increase in symptoms befo url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/prospectively-reported-symptom-change-across-the-menstrual-cycle-in-users-and-2003/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do symptoms change across the menstrual cycle and does birth control affect this? Cohort study, 2003 # Do symptoms change across the menstrual cycle and does birth control affect this? Symptoms are lowest in the early cycle phase and increase before and during menstruation. Over 40 percent of women show a 30 percent increase in symptoms before their period. Birth control use does not change whether women experience these changes. Moderate study design 181 women from the general population, mean age 30 years ## What they did 181 women aged 30 on average tracked symptoms daily for 70 days using a symptom questionnaire. Researchers compared women taking monophasic birth control, triphasic birth control, or no birth control. ## What they found All symptom types changed across the cycle. Symptoms were lowest in the early phase and increased before menstruation. Body symptoms peaked during menstruation, fluid retention peaked before. Over 40 percent of women showed 30 percent increases in symptoms before their period. Close to 50 percent had mood increases, over 70 percent had fluid retention increases. Monophasic birth control users reported higher fluid retention and body symptoms than triphasic users. Birth control did not change the overall symptom pattern. ## What it means for you Most women experience symptom changes tied to their menstrual cycle regardless of birth control use. These changes reflect normal hormone patterns. Different birth control formulations may result in different symptom levels. 181 Women tracked 70 Days of tracking 40% With 30% premenstrual symptom increase ## About the study Original title Prospectively reported symptom change across the menstrual cycle in users and non-users of oral contraceptives Authors Ross C, Coleman G, Stojanovska C Journal Journal of psychosomatic obstetrics and gynaecology Year 2003 Study design Cohort study What was tested Menstrual cycle phase and oral contraceptive type comparison Read the paper [doi.org/10.3109/01674820309042797](https://doi.org/10.3109/01674820309042797) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/) 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, 2024 Does estetrol/drospirenone birth control improve PMS symptoms? Systematic review, 2024 What are the best treatments for PMDD and PMS? Review, 2024 What are the most effective treatments for PMDD? Systematic review, 2023 What hormonal treatments have been tested for PMDD, menstrual migraine, and catamenial epilepsy? Systematic review, 2023 How common are menstrual cycle problems and PMS or PMDD in female athletes? Guideline, 2023 How are GnRH agonists used to treat PMDD that doesn't respond to standard medications? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗