Lab study, 1989
Do women with severe premenstrual symptoms respond to stress differently?
During mental tasks, women with mild or no severe symptoms showed smaller heart rate responses in the premenstrual phase than the postmenstrual phase, but women with severe symptoms did not.
What they did
16 women from a premenstrual tension clinic and 8 control women were tested during the premenstrual and postmenstrual phases. Both groups completed daily symptom tracking for two menstrual cycles beforehand. Measurements included heart rate, skin conductance level, and neck muscle tension during rest, relaxation, an emotionally upsetting film, mental arithmetic tasks, and video game tasks.
What they found
At rest, there were no clear differences. During relaxation, skin conductance decreased more in the premenstrual phase, while neck muscle tension showed the opposite pattern. Heart rate responses to mental tasks were smaller in the premenstrual phase in the control group and women with modest symptom changes, but not in women with marked symptom increases.
What it means for you
Women with severe premenstrual symptoms may have altered physical stress responses, particularly during mental tasks in the premenstrual phase. However, the patterns are complex and do not suggest a single consistent difference. The study is small and cannot explain what causes these differences.
16
women with severe symptoms
8
control women
2
menstrual cycles
About the study
- Original title
- Psychophysiological responses in women reporting severe premenstrual symptoms
- Authors
- van den Akker O, Steptoe A
- Journal
- Psychosomatic medicine
- Year
- 1989
- Study design
- Lab study
- What was tested
- Experimental testing of physiological responses
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1097/00006842-198905000-00006
Topics
Related studies
Randomised trial, 2026
Does aerobic or resistance exercise reduce anxiety in women with PMS?
Cohort study, 2025
How common is PMS in Chinese teenage girls, and what factors are linked to it?
Survey study, 2026
Is worry about climate change linked to worse PMS symptoms?
Survey study, 2023
How common are PMS, PMDD, anxiety, and depression in rural adolescent girls?
Survey study, 2021
What factors affect premenstrual syndrome in teenage girls?
Survey study, 2020
What topics are researchers most interested in studying about PMS and PMDD?