Survey study, 2009
What premenstrual and menstrual symptoms do Chinese women experience?
About 18.6% to 34.2% of Chinese women reported 10 or more menstrual symptoms, showing that PMS is common in Chinese women at similar rates to Western populations.
What they did
Researchers developed and tested a Chinese questionnaire about menstrual symptoms. In the first part, 538 women in Hong Kong completed the questionnaire with measures of anxiety, depression, and personality traits. In the second part, 339 different women completed it for validation.
What they found
Perimenstrual symptoms were common. 18.6% of women reported 10 or more premenstrual symptoms, and 34.2% reported 10 or more menstrual symptoms. Symptoms included emotional problems like mood changes and physical problems like pain. The pattern of symptoms was similar to Western women but with some cultural differences.
What it means for you
PMS symptoms are just as common in Chinese women as in Western women, though the specific symptoms may differ slightly between cultures. The study is cross-sectional so we cannot determine cause and effect.
538
women in initial sample
18.6%
reported 10+ premenstrual symptoms
34.2%
reported 10+ menstrual symptoms
About the study
- Original title
- A culturally sensitive study of premenstrual and menstrual symptoms among Chinese women
- Authors
- Lee AM, So-Kum Tang C, Chong C
- Journal
- Journal of psychosomatic obstetrics and gynaecology
- Year
- 2009
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 538
- What was tested
- None (questionnaire development and validation)
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1080/01674820902789241
Topics
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