Survey study, 2020
Does worry about health change how stressed women feel at different times in their menstrual cycle?
Women with higher worry about health reported more stress during the late luteal phase. This worry did not change whether they experienced more premenstrual symptoms overall.
What they did
Researchers studied 38 women who visited the clinic twice: once in the late luteal phase and once in the follicular phase, with visit order randomized. Menstrual phase was confirmed with hormone tests.
What they found
All women experienced more premenstrual symptoms in the late luteal phase than the follicular phase. Women with higher health anxiety reported greater perceived stress during the late luteal phase, but women with lower health anxiety reported similar stress levels in both phases. Health anxiety did not affect whether symptoms occurred.
What it means for you
Worry about health may make menstrual-related stress worse, but does not change whether symptoms happen. The study had only 38 women and was observational, so results may not apply broadly.
38
women studied
2
menstrual phases studied
About the study
- Original title
- The role of health anxiety in the experience of perceived stress across the menstrual cycle
- Authors
- Shayani DR, Arditte Hall KA, Isley BC et al.
- Journal
- Anxiety, stress, and coping
- Year
- 2020
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 38
- What was tested
- None
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2020.1802434
Topics
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