Cohort study, 1995
Does premenstrual syndrome get worse as women age?
No. Symptoms actually decreased with age. The worst time for severe PMS was in women's late twenties through mid-thirties, not later in life.
What they did
Cross-sectional study of 332 women seeking treatment for severe PMS. Researchers compared symptoms and depression factors in younger women (ages 20-35) with older women (ages 36-44).
What they found
Symptom severity decreased with age and was not linked to how long women had been experiencing PMS. Depression-related factors were the strongest predictors of symptom severity and best distinguished younger from older women.
What it means for you
This contradicts the common belief that PMS worsens until menopause. The main limits are that this was a cross-sectional study (snapshot at one time, not following women over years) and only included women severe enough to seek treatment.
332
women in study
33.1
mean age (years)
5.3
standard deviation of age
About the study
- Original title
- Relationships between age and symptom severity among women seeking medical treatment for premenstrual symptoms
- Authors
- Freeman EW, Rickels K, Schweizer E et al.
- Journal
- Psychological medicine
- Year
- 1995
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Participants
- 332
- What was tested
- None; observational study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1017/s0033291700036205
Topics
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