--- title: Are PMS symptoms linked to how women feel about their health and stress? description: Yes. Women who reported feeling unhealthy or stressed had much more severe PMS symptoms. How a woman perceives her own health was the strongest factor linked url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/a-potential-relation-between-premenstrual-symptoms-and-subjective-perception-of-2019/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Are PMS symptoms linked to how women feel about their health and stress? Survey study, 2019 # Are PMS symptoms linked to how women feel about their health and stress? Yes. Women who reported feeling unhealthy or stressed had much more severe PMS symptoms. How a woman perceives her own health was the strongest factor linked to PMS symptom severity. Early or limited evidence 200 college students, average age 19.8 years ## What they did Researchers surveyed 200 college students (average age 19.8 years) about their PMS symptoms using a questionnaire that asked about 46 different symptoms in 8 categories. Participants also answered questions about how they perceived their own health, their stress level, lifestyle, and demographic information. ## What they found The 10 most common PMS symptoms reported were skin problems, irritability, fatigue, mood swings, general aches and pains, lowered work or school performance, backache, breast pain, weight gain, and swelling. Women who perceived themselves as unhealthy and stressed reported notably more severe physical symptoms like aches and pains, and more psychological symptoms like mood swings, anxiety, depression, and trouble concentrating. ## What it means for you This study shows that how women feel about their overall health and stress levels is linked to how severe their PMS symptoms are. However, because it was observational and only included college students, we cannot know if reducing stress or improving health perception would reduce PMS symptoms, or if the reverse is true. 200 College students surveyed 46 PMS symptoms asked about 19 Women rated themselves unhealthy and stressed ## About the study Original title A potential relation between premenstrual symptoms and subjective perception of health and stress among college students: a cross-sectional study Authors Matsumoto T, Egawa M, Kimura T et al. Journal BioPsychoSocial medicine Year 2019 Study design Survey study Participants 200 Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1186/s13030-019-0167-y](https://doi.org/10.1186/s13030-019-0167-y) Original abstract Background: A majority of women from all cultures and socioeconomic levels experience myriad symptoms known as premenstrual syndrome during the days prior to menstruation. The present study investigated commonly reported symptoms in the premenstrual phase among college students. The authors further scrutinized potential factors, including subjective perceptions of health, which may be related to the premenstrual-symptom constellation. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey, which included 200 participants (mean age: 19.8 ± 0.1 years old). The subjects completed a rating of their premenstrual experiences relative to 46 symptoms in eight categories of the self-reporting menstrual distress questionnaire (MDQ) to evaluate the prevalence and severity of premenstrual symptoms. The participants also answered a standardized health questionnaire regarding subjective perceptions of health, self-rating stress, lifestyle, and demographic variables. Results: Regardless of severity, the 10 symptoms most often occurring among the participants included skin disorders, irritability, fatigue, mood swings, general aches and pains, lowered school or work performance, backache, painful breasts, weight gain, and swelling. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed subjective perception of health (β = 0.28; p p = 0.008) as the factors most strongly related to the MDQ total scores. In addition, the 19 women who evaluated themselves as "unhealthy and stressed" had greater prevalence of severe or extremely severe physical (general aches and pains) and psychosocial symptoms (confusion, lowered school or work performance, decreased efficiency, loneliness, anxiety, restlessness, mood swings, and depression), compared to the healthy and non-stressed women. Conclusions: The present study indicates the prevalence of premenstrual symptoms, regardless of severity and number, among college students and suggests that negative subjective perceptions of health and stress may be related to the intensity of premenstrual symptomatology. Reproduced under CC-BY. ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Mood swings and emotion regulation](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-emotional-regulation/)[Bloating, breast tenderness and physical symptoms](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-physical-symptoms/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Work and productivity](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-work/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/)[Stigma, attitudes and culture](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-stigma-culture/) 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 Non-randomised trial, 2025 Does an educational video help teenagers with PMS knowledge and anxiety? 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