---
title: What makes a woman more likely to have PMS that's confirmed by daily tracking rather than just by memory?
description: Working outside the home was linked to a higher chance of having confirmed PMS, and being older was linked to a lower chance; but strictly defined PMS, confir
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/some-correlates-of-prospectively-defined-premenstrual-syndrome-1988/
---

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- What makes a woman more likely to have PMS that's confirmed by daily tracking rather than just by memory?

Cohort study, 1988

# What makes a woman more likely to have PMS that's confirmed by daily tracking rather than just by memory?

Working outside the home was linked to a higher chance of having confirmed PMS, and being older was linked to a lower chance; but strictly defined PMS, confirmed by daily mood tracking, turned out to be uncommon even among women who thought they had it.

 Early or limited evidence

50 women who visited a premenstrual syndrome clinic.

## What they did

50 women attending a PMS clinic kept daily mood ratings across their cycles. The researcher used an 'effect size' measure, comparing mood before and after the period relative to normal day-to-day swings, to work out who really had a prospectively confirmed pattern of PMS.

## What they found

Only 12 of the 50 women showed a clear mood shift (effect size of 1.0 or more) in two cycles. Having this confirmed pattern of PMS was more likely in women who worked outside the home, and less likely in older women.

## What it means for you

Many women who believe they have PMS may not show a strong, consistent mood shift when tracked daily, which is why researchers prefer daily diaries over memory. The link to work and age is useful but comes from one small clinic sample, so it may not generalize.

50

Women studied

12

Women meeting strict PMS pattern (2 cycles)

## About the study

Original title Some correlates of prospectively defined premenstrual syndrome Authors Schnurr PP Journal The American journal of psychiatry Year 1988 Study design Cohort study Participants 50 What was tested None; this was an observational study looking at factors linked to confirmed PMS. Read the paper [doi.org/10.1176/ajp.145.4.491](https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.145.4.491)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

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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Case-control study, 2026

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Survey study, 2025

Does PMDD or PMS affect quality of life?

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