---
title: Should researchers combine different moods or track them separately when studying PMS?
description: Individual moods rise and fall together in women with PMS, so combining them into one score is a good way to track premenstrual mood changes.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-use-of-combined-mood-scores-in-studying-the-premenstrual-syndrome-does-it-1989/
---

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- Should researchers combine different moods or track them separately when studying PMS?

Study, 1989

# Should researchers combine different moods or track them separately when studying PMS?

Individual moods rise and fall together in women with PMS, so combining them into one score is a good way to track premenstrual mood changes.

 Moderate study design

44 women with premenstrual syndrome

## What they did

44 women with PMS recorded 7 different moods every day for 2 to 4 menstrual cycles. Researchers analyzed how these moods changed together over time.

## What they found

One main mood pattern accounted for about 75% of the variation across the 7 moods tracked. In only 2 out of 44 women was there evidence of a second separate mood pattern. This shows that for nearly all women, the moods rise and fall together.

## What it means for you

For measuring premenstrual mood changes, researchers can use a single combined mood score instead of tracking each mood separately. This reflects how moods actually work during the menstrual cycle. Limited by not including women without PMS as a comparison group.

44

women with PMS

75%

variance in main mood component

2

women with a second mood pattern

## About the study

Original title The use of combined mood scores in studying the premenstrual syndrome: does it clarify or muddy the picture? Authors Wells JE, Metcalf MG, Livesey JH Journal Journal of psychosomatic obstetrics and gynaecology Year 1989 Study design Study What was tested None - observational study tracking daily moods Read the paper [doi.org/10.3109/01674828909016686](https://doi.org/10.3109/01674828909016686)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)

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

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Systematic review, 2026

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Case-control study, 2026

Do women with PMS handle emotions differently at different times of the cycle?

Survey study, 2025

Does PMDD or PMS affect quality of life?

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