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Case-control study, 2024

Do adolescents with PMS have different heart rate patterns than those without PMS?

No clear difference was found. Heart rate measurements during different parts of the menstrual cycle were similar in adolescents with PMS and those without PMS.

Moderate study design 48 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, with 29 diagnosed with PMS and 19 without PMS.

What they did

Measured heart rate in 48 adolescents (29 with PMS, 19 without) using heart rate recordings during both the first and second halves of the menstrual cycle.

What they found

Heart rate measurements including heart rate, time intervals between beats, and rhythm patterns did not differ between the PMS group and the control group, or between the first half and second half of the menstrual cycle.

What it means for you

In adolescents, PMS does not appear to affect how the nervous system controls the heart. This might be because adolescents' bodies are still developing or because they have milder PMS symptoms. The main limitation is the small sample size and that only adolescents were studied, so these results may not apply to adult women.

48

total adolescents studied

29

with PMS

19

without PMS

About the study

Original title
The Evaluation of Autonomic Dysfunction in Adolescent Patients with Premenstrual Syndrome
Authors
Özlem Akbulut, İlker Ertuğrul, Melis Pehlivantürk Kızılkan et al.
Journal
Archives of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Year
2024
Study design
Case-control study
Participants
48
What was tested
None; observational study
Open access
Yes
Original abstract

Introduction: The relationship between premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and autonomic nervous system (ANS) is complex, with limited data on PMS-related stress further inducing disturbances in the ANS balance. We aimed to investigate the ANS functions through heart rate changes in adolescents with and without PMS. Method: Participants aged 12-18 years were evaluated for the presence of PMS with the premenstrual syndrome scale and seperated into PMS and control groups. All participants were evaluated by 12-lead surface electrocardiography (ECG) and 24-hour rhythm Holter recordings during the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. Results: A total of 48 participants (29 PMS, 19 control) were included in our study. The mean age was 15.37 ± 1.42 years in the PMS group and 14.66 ± 1.36 years in the control group. ECG (ventricular rate, PR interval, QRS duration, QT and QTc) and holter (SDNN-ms, SDNNi, RMS_SD, Triangular index) data did not differ in both groups and between phases. Conclusions: Our results showed that autonomic activity in adolescents with PMS does not vary from that of the control group or according to menstrual cycle phases. This might be attributed to the potential correlation between the augmentation of autonomic activity response and both age and the severity of the illness.

Reproduced under CC-BY.

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