Cohort study, 2015
Do symptoms of acute intermittent porphyria change during the menstrual cycle?
Yes. 30 of 32 women with this rare disease showed symptom changes across their menstrual cycle. Breast tenderness and abdominal swelling showed the strongest changes.
What they did
Researchers tracked 32 Swedish women with acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), a rare genetic disease causing severe pain and physical symptoms. Women rated their symptoms every day across their menstrual cycles to see if symptoms were worse or better at different times.
What they found
30 of 32 women showed significant cyclical changes in at least one symptom. Back pain occurred in 10 women and sweet cravings in 10 women. Breast tenderness and abdominal swelling showed the strongest cyclical patterns (F=21.888 and F=16.982 respectively). Pelvic pain and abdominal swelling were strongly correlated (rs=0.337, p<0.001).
What it means for you
Women with AIP experience symptom changes across their menstrual cycle, particularly physical symptoms. However, AIP is very rare, so these findings may not apply to women without this condition. The study was small with only 32 participants.
30/32
women with cyclical symptom changes
10/32
women with back pain
21.888
F-value for breast tenderness changes
About the study
- Original title
- Acute intermittent porphyria symptoms during the menstrual cycle
- Authors
- Ahangari A, Bäckström T, Innala E et al.
- Journal
- Internal medicine journal
- Year
- 2015
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Participants
- 32
- What was tested
- None - observational study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1111/imj.12784
Topics
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