---
title: Does how women think about menstruation affect their PMS symptoms?
description: Yes, women who view menstruation as debilitating or bothersome reported more PMS symptoms than those with more positive views.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-relationship-between-attitudes-toward-menstruation-and-perimenstrual-2018/
---

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- Does how women think about menstruation affect their PMS symptoms?

Survey study, 2018

# Does how women think about menstruation affect their PMS symptoms?

Yes, women who view menstruation as debilitating or bothersome reported more PMS symptoms than those with more positive views.

 Moderate study design

300 female university students in Northeast Iran

## What they did

Researchers surveyed 300 female university students about their attitudes toward menstruation and their PMS symptoms using questionnaires.

## What they found

76.6% of students thought menstruation was debilitating and 49.6% thought it was bothersome. Women with more negative attitudes reported more PMS symptoms. The most common premenstrual symptoms were mood swings, cramps, and feeling sad.

## What it means for you

How women think about their period may influence how severe their symptoms feel. The main limit is this was only a survey, so we cannot tell whether negative attitudes cause worse symptoms or whether having worse symptoms causes negative attitudes.

300

female university students

76.6

percent saw menstruation as debilitating

49.6

percent saw menstruation as bothersome

## About the study

Original title The Relationship Between Attitudes Toward Menstruation and Perimenstrual Symptoms Among Female Students of Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Northeast Iran Authors Ashraf Ghiasi, Afsaneh Keramat, Leila Mollaahmadi Journal Shiraz E-Medical Journal Year 2018 Study design Survey study Participants 300 What was tested None Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.5812/semj.65714](https://doi.org/10.5812/semj.65714)

## Topics

[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Fatigue and energy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-fatigue/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Relationships and partners](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-relationships/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/)[Stigma, attitudes and culture](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-stigma-culture/)

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.

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