--- title: Are period pain and premenstrual symptoms connected? | Niyora description: Yes. Students who had premenstrual symptoms reported more painful periods. Those with irregular periods also reported worse pain than those with regular cycle url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/young-japanese-college-students-with-dysmenorrhea-have-high-frequency-of-2007/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Are period pain and premenstrual symptoms connected? Survey study, 2007 # Are period pain and premenstrual symptoms connected? Yes. Students who had premenstrual symptoms reported more painful periods. Those with irregular periods also reported worse pain than those with regular cycles. Moderate study design 522 Japanese college students aged 18 to 20 years ## What they did Surveyed 522 Japanese female college students aged 18 to 20 about their period pain intensity, whether their periods were irregular, and whether they had premenstrual symptoms. ## What they found Period pain was scored from 1 (no pain, no pain relief needed) to 3 (severe pain not relieved by medication). Students with premenstrual symptoms had pain scores of 1.66 compared to 1.41 for those without premenstrual symptoms. Students with irregular periods scored 1.62 versus 1.49 for those with regular periods. There was no clear connection between having premenstrual symptoms and having irregular periods. ## What it means for you If you have period pain, you are more likely to also have premenstrual symptoms. If your periods are irregular, you may experience worse pain. This is a snapshot survey showing what happens, but not whether one causes the other. The study included young students in Japan, so findings may not apply to all women. 522 Students surveyed 1.66 vs 1.41 Period pain: with vs without premenstrual symptoms 1.62 vs 1.49 Period pain: irregular vs regular periods ## About the study Original title Young Japanese college students with dysmenorrhea have high frequency of irregular menstruation and premenstrual symptoms Authors Fujiwara T, Nakata R Journal The open medical informatics journal Year 2007 Study design Survey study Participants 522 What was tested None – observational survey Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.2174/1874431100701010008](https://doi.org/10.2174/1874431100701010008) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Dysmenorrhea and period pain](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-dysmenorrhea/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/)[Adolescents and young people](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-adolescents/) 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 Systematic review, 2025 Does teaching adolescent girls about their menstrual cycle and health help reduce period pain and PMS? Survey study, 2026 Do young women with PMS search online for health information more and develop health anxiety from it? Non-randomised trial, 2026 Does video-guided digital menstrual exercise reduce PMS and period pain in adolescent girls? Survey study, 2024 How common is PMS among adolescent girls and what factors are linked to it? Review, 2024 Does yoga help reduce period pain and premenstrual symptoms? Interview study, 2024 How do young women use period tracker apps to manage their menstrual cycles? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗