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Review, 1992

Is PMS really caused by hormones?

The evidence that PMS is caused by hormones is unclear. Psychological and individualized treatments may work better than hormone treatments for PMS.

Strong study design Literature review - no specific population studied

What they did

Reviewed scientific evidence about whether reproduction causes mental health problems like PMS, and examined both biological and psychological explanations.

What they found

Biological and hormone treatments for PMS show unclear evidence of how well they work, with no clear proof that hormones cause PMS symptoms. Psychological and multifactorial or individualized treatments were recommended. While reproductive events can contribute to psychological distress in some women, they don't inevitably cause mental health problems.

What it means for you

PMS may not be purely a hormone problem. Doctors should consider psychological approaches and individualized treatment plans. This finding comes from reviewing existing research rather than new experiments.

3

reproductive syndromes reviewed

About the study

Original title
Research and theory related to female reproduction: implications for clinical psychology
Authors
Ussher JM
Journal
The British journal of clinical psychology
Year
1992
Study design
Review
What was tested
None - literature review

Topics