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.
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
Topics
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)?