Survey study, 1982
Are premenstrual and menstrual symptoms separate problems or part of one larger problem?
They appear to be part of one larger problem. Although some symptoms are worse before your period and others during it, the symptoms largely overlap.
What they did
Researchers interviewed 193 women aged 18-35 from five neighborhoods in a southeastern US city. Most (179) completed a questionnaire about menstrual symptoms across different phases of the cycle.
What they found
At least 30% of women reported weight gain, skin problems, backache, breast pain, irritability, depression, headache, cramps, fatigue, swelling, mood swings or tension around their period. Although some symptoms like cramps, weight gain, and fatigue showed bigger differences between premenstrual and menstrual phases, most other symptoms were reported similarly in both phases.
What it means for you
All symptoms around your period should be understood as one overall experience rather than as completely separate premenstrual and menstrual problems. The main limitation is that the study relied on women's recall of symptoms, which can be less accurate than daily tracking.
193
Women surveyed
at least 30%
Reporting menstrual distress
31
Symptoms with no cycle phase difference
About the study
- Original title
- Toward a construct of perimenstrual distress
- Authors
- Woods NF, Most A, Dery GK
- Journal
- Research in nursing & health
- Year
- 1982
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 193
- What was tested
- None
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1002/nur.4770050304
Topics
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