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.
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
Topics
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