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.
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
Topics
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