---
title: Do female athletes have worse premenstrual symptoms during competition?
description: Some do, and the type of sport matters. Individual athletes report more psychological stress during their menstrual period than team athletes do.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/psychological-situations-of-elite-turkish-female-athletes-in-premenstrual-period-2013/
---

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- Do female athletes have worse premenstrual symptoms during competition?

Survey study, 2013

# Do female athletes have worse premenstrual symptoms during competition?

Some do, and the type of sport matters. Individual athletes report more psychological stress during their menstrual period than team athletes do.

 Early or limited evidence

266 elite female Turkish athletes (120 team, 146 individual)

## What they did

Cross-sectional study of 266 elite Turkish female athletes: 120 team athletes and 146 individual athletes in sports like wrestling, judo, and taekwondo. Researchers assessed premenstrual symptoms and psychological stress.

## What they found

Individual and team athletes showed clear differences in depressive mood, anxiety, exhaustion, anger, pain, appetite changes, and timidity. Individual athletes reported more psychological stress during competition and training in the menstrual period compared to team athletes. Performance differences were linked to sport type and competition schedule.

## What it means for you

Individual female athletes may experience more mental health strain during their menstrual period because they face competition stress alone, whereas team athletes share the pressure. The study only included elite Turkish athletes in specific sports, so findings may not apply to all athletes or recreational sports.

120

Team athletes

146

Individual athletes

266

Total athletes studied

## About the study

Original title Psychological Situations of Elite Turkish Female Athletes in Premenstrual Period Authors Özden Taşğın Journal Archives of Budo Year 2013 Study design Survey study Participants 266 What was tested None—observational study Read the paper [doi.org/10.12659/aob.883781](https://doi.org/10.12659/aob.883781)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Athletes and sport](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-athletes/)

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Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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