Survey study, 2025
Do women with PMS have difficulty managing emotions across their whole cycle or only before their period?
Women with PMS reported more difficulty managing emotions overall, but when tested at different cycle phases, these difficulties were not actually found. Whether emotion problems cause PMS or untreated PMS makes women feel like they have emotion problems remains unclear.
What they did
Study of 105 women aged 18 to 35 who completed questionnaires about emotion regulation and were tested at three points in their cycle (mid-follicular, mid-luteal, and premenstrual phases). 54 women had confirmed PMS/PMDD and 51 were healthy controls. Testing continued over two menstrual cycles.
What they found
Women with PMS/PMDD reported more emotion regulation difficulties on a trait questionnaire. However, when emotion regulation was tested during specific cycle phases, no differences were found between women with PMS and controls. Emotion regulation problems did not explain the severity of PMS symptoms. Mood worsening before menstruation occurred in women with PMS/PMDD but not in healthy controls.
What it means for you
Women with PMS may perceive emotion regulation problems when they do not actually experience them during testing, or untreated PMS may make them feel this way. This highlights the importance of proper diagnosis and treatment. The study was relatively small and followed participants over only two cycles.
105
women studied
54
with confirmed PMS/PMDD
51
healthy controls
About the study
- Original title
- Association and Timing of Changes in Emotion Regulation and Mood along the Menstrual Cycle in Women with Premenstrual Syndrome
- Authors
- Pletzer B, Gnaiger A, Kinzelmann J et al.
- Journal
- medRxiv
- Year
- 2025
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 105
- What was tested
- None (observational study)
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1101/2025.03.18.25324201
Topics
Related studies
Study, 2026
How do women with PMDD process emotions differently in their brains?
Case-control study, 2026
Do women with PMS handle emotions differently at different times of the cycle?
Systematic review, 2025
Do people with PMDD and severe PMS have difficulties with emotion regulation?
Case-control study, 2025
How does PMS affect the brain's response to positive emotions?
Cohort study, 2023
Does the menstrual cycle affect how often women have suicidal thoughts?
Case-control study, 2023
Do emotion regulation strategies help women with PMDD manage mood and stress hormones?