---
title: Do women with worse PMS have more stress and lower quality of life?
description: Yes. Women with high PMS had clearly more stress and lower quality of life compared to women with low PMS. Exercise did not make a clear difference overall in
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/stress-quality-of-life-and-physical-activity-in-women-with-varying-degrees-of-2004/
---

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- Do women with worse PMS have more stress and lower quality of life?

Study, 2004

# Do women with worse PMS have more stress and lower quality of life?

Yes. Women with high PMS had clearly more stress and lower quality of life compared to women with low PMS. Exercise did not make a clear difference overall in either group.

 Moderate study design

114 women aged 18 to 33 with varying levels of PMS symptoms

## What they did

Researchers surveyed 114 women aged 18 to 33 about their PMS symptoms, stress levels, quality of life, and exercise habits. They divided women into high PMS and low PMS groups based on their reported symptoms and compared the groups on stress, quality of life, and exercise measures.

## What they found

Women with high PMS had a clear difference in stress and quality of life compared to women with low PMS, reporting higher stress and poorer quality of life. Exercise frequency, volume, and intensity showed no clear difference between groups overall. Interestingly, among women with high PMS, those who exercised sometimes reported more stress than those who exercised often or never.

## What it means for you

Worse PMS symptoms are linked to more stress and lower quality of life. Exercise did not help most women overall, though some women with high PMS may exercise sometimes as a response to their symptoms rather than experiencing relief from it. The study was limited by measuring things only once rather than tracking women throughout their menstrual cycle.

114

women studied

18-33

age range

## About the study

Original title Stress, quality of life and physical activity in women with varying degrees of premenstrual symptomatology Authors Lustyk MK, Widman L, Paschane A et al. Journal Women & health Year 2004 Study design Study Participants 114 What was tested None - this was an observational study Read the paper [doi.org/10.1300/j013v39n03_03](https://doi.org/10.1300/j013v39n03_03)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Exercise and yoga](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-exercise/)[Relationships and partners](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-relationships/)[Quality of life and daily functioning](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-quality-of-life/)

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