---
title: Do mood and physical symptoms really change across the menstrual cycle, and does anxiety make this worse?
description: Yes, women reported more symptoms before and during their period and fewer in the days after, though the exact pattern differed a lot between women. Anxious w
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-pattern-and-prevalence-of-symptoms-during-the-menstrual-cycle-1985/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Do mood and physical symptoms really change across the menstrual cycle, and does anxiety make this worse?

Cohort study, 1985

# Do mood and physical symptoms really change across the menstrual cycle, and does anxiety make this worse?

Yes, women reported more symptoms before and during their period and fewer in the days after, though the exact pattern differed a lot between women. Anxious women reported more symptoms overall, but anxiety did not explain the cyclical ups and downs themselves.

 Moderate study design

100 women not using oral contraceptives

## What they did

One hundred women filled in a daily symptom questionnaire for 35 days, without knowing the study was about the menstrual cycle. None were taking oral contraceptives. Researchers also measured trait anxiety and general psychological wellbeing.

## What they found

Significantly more symptoms were reported in the premenstrual and menstrual phases and fewer in the follicular phase, but the pattern varied a lot between women. Women with high trait anxiety or poorer psychiatric wellbeing reported more symptoms across all phases of the cycle, but this did not explain why symptoms rose and fell with the cycle.

## What it means for you

Symptom changes across the cycle are real but highly individual, so what one woman experiences may not match another's pattern. The study points to a need for more studies that track women over time rather than relying on memory.

100

Women studied

35

Days tracked

## About the study

Original title The pattern and prevalence of symptoms during the menstrual cycle Authors van den Akker O, Steptoe A Journal The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science Year 1985 Study design Cohort study What was tested None, this was an observational daily tracking study Read the paper [doi.org/10.1192/bjp.147.2.164](https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.147.2.164)

## Topics

[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/)

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

Randomised trial, 2017

Does the combined oral contraceptive pill affect mood?

Randomised trial, 1999

Does calcium reduce PMS symptoms?

Cohort study, 1993

How common are premenstrual and menstrual symptoms in women?

Survey study, 2023

Is PMDD diagnosis associated with more severe depression and anxiety and lower well-being?

Survey study, 2021

Does the menstrual cycle affect women's ability to train and compete?

Randomised trial, 2017

Does Sepranolone reduce symptoms of severe premenstrual syndrome (PMDD)?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗