--- title: Do women with both anxiety disorder and PMS have worse anxiety, and does the menstrual cycle affect it? description: Women with both anxiety disorder and PMS had worse symptoms in both menstrual phases, with clear worsening premenstrually. Even when assessed once, their rati url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-influence-of-premenstrual-syndrome-on-ratings-of-anxiety-in-women-with-1993/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do women with both anxiety disorder and PMS have worse anxiety, and does the menstrual cycle affect it? Case-control study, 1993 # Do women with both anxiety disorder and PMS have worse anxiety, and does the menstrual cycle affect it? Women with both anxiety disorder and PMS had worse symptoms in both menstrual phases, with clear worsening premenstrually. Even when assessed once, their ratings were influenced by how bad they felt premenstrually. Early or limited evidence 41 women with anxiety disorder and PMS, 21 with anxiety disorder only, 19 controls ## What they did Case-control study. 41 women with both anxiety disorder and PMS were assessed during premenstrual and follicular phases. They were compared to 21 women with anxiety disorder only and 19 controls. The latter two groups were assessed once in the standard manner. ## What they found Women with both anxiety disorder and PMS had worse symptoms than controls in both menstrual phases. Symptoms were worse in the premenstrual phase than the follicular phase. How women with both conditions felt premenstrually influenced their overall symptom ratings, even when assessed in the standard one-time way. ## What it means for you Having both anxiety disorder and PMS makes anxiety worse, especially before your period. When doctors assess anxiety in women with both conditions, they need to account for menstrual effects because one-time ratings may be heavily influenced by how severe symptoms are premenstrually. Small sample size. 41 women with anxiety disorder and PMS 21 women with anxiety disorder only 19 controls ## About the study Original title The influence of premenstrual syndrome on ratings of anxiety in women with generalized anxiety disorder Authors McLeod DR, Hoehn-Saric R, Foster GV et al. Journal Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica Year 1993 Study design Case-control study Participants 41 What was tested None Read the paper [doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.1993.tb03451.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.1993.tb03451.x) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Anxiety disorders and OCD](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-anxiety-disorders/) 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. ## Related studies Systematic review, 2022 Do mental health disorders get worse during the menstrual cycle? Cohort study, 1993 How common are premenstrual and menstrual symptoms in women? Study, 2026 Do anxiety and depression get worse before your period if you already have a mental health condition? Study, 2026 What are premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder? Cohort study, 2020 Are women with PMDD more likely to have generalized anxiety disorder? Lab study, 2020 Does anxiety sensitivity change during different parts of the menstrual cycle? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗