Does physical activity reduce PMS symptoms?

Background: In recent years, moderate physical activity has attracted the attention of experts and women as a way to cope with premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Studies investigated the effects of exercise on PMS, but only a few reports focused on the relationship between physical activity, which included daily movement and exercise, and PMS. Therefore, the present study investigated the relationship between the amount of daily physical activity and PMS symptoms in sexually mature women. Methods A total of 381 female university students in Japan were surveyed using a paper or web-based questionnaire with the same content. The questionnaire consisted of basic information, PMS symptoms, and physical activity based on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Participants were divided into two groups (≥ 3000 The Metabolic Equivalent of Task(MET)s/week and < 3000 METs/week) based on their total physical activity as calculated using the IPAQ guidelines. The two groups were then compared in terms of the severity of their PMS physical and psychological symptoms as calculated based on the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ PMS diagnostic criteria. The Wilcoxon's rank-sum test was used for statistical analyses. We then divided the participants based on the presence or absence of each symptom using the Chi-square test. The significance level was set at < 5%. Results Those with total physical activity of 3000 METs or more had lower total PMS symptom scores ( p < 0.01), physical symptom scores ( p = 0.01), and psychological symptom scores ( p = 0.01) compared with those with total physical activity of < 3000 METs/week. Conclusion These results suggest that people with moderate physical activity (≥ 3000 METs/week) in daily life have milder symptoms of PMS.

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