Survey study, 2001
Does how much you tend to worry affect your mood before your period?
Yes. Women who scored higher on a personality test for worry and upset feelings reported more negative mood before their period, even accounting for baseline mood. Women taking birth control pills had higher worry scores.
What they did
109 women completed daily questionnaires about mood and symptoms for 70 days. Researchers measured their personality trait of tending to worry and feel upset using a standard test.
What they found
The tendency to worry and feel upset was linked to more negative feelings before the period. Women using birth control pills had higher worry scores than those not using them. Birth control users experienced less negative mood before their period but more negative mood during menstruation.
What it means for you
Tendency to worry may influence premenstrual mood changes. This was an observational study without treatment groups, so we cannot determine if worry causes the symptoms or simply goes along with them.
109
women studied
70
days of tracking
About the study
- Original title
- Relationship between the NEO personality inventory revised neuroticism scale and prospectively reported negative affect across the menstrual cycle
- Authors
- Ross C, Coleman G, Stojanovska C
- Journal
- Journal of psychosomatic obstetrics and gynaecology
- Year
- 2001
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- None. This tracked personality traits and mood over time.
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.3109/01674820109049969
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