Case-control study, 2023
Is diet linked to PMS severity?
Only copper intake was higher in women with PMS compared to women without PMS, but this finding is very preliminary and the researchers say larger studies are needed before drawing conclusions.
What they did
The researchers enrolled 47 women but only 30 completed the study (16 with PMS and 14 without). Participants completed questionnaires about PMS severity and kept food diaries for 3 days during the time around their period.
What they found
Women with PMS ate similar amounts of calories, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and most vitamins and minerals as women without PMS. The only nutrient that differed was copper, which was higher in the PMS group (1.27 mg per day versus 0.94 mg per day).
What it means for you
This study was very small and only found one nutrient difference out of all nutrients measured. The researchers cannot yet say whether diet causes PMS or whether PMS changes what women eat. Much larger studies are needed to understand the connection.
16
Women with PMS
14
Control women
1.27 v 0.94 mg/d
Copper intake PMS vs control
About the study
- Original title
- Association between Dietary Habits and Severity of Symptoms in Premenstrual Syndrome
- Authors
- Quaglia C, Nettore IC, Palatucci G et al.
- Journal
- International journal of environmental research and public health
- Year
- 2023
- Study design
- Case-control study
- What was tested
- Food diary observation only, no intervention tested
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031717
Original abstract
Background: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a set of physical, psychological, and emotional symptoms that occur during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. The etiopathogenesis of this condition is not fully understood, and several studies suggest a possible role of environmental factors, such as diet. The aim of this work was to investigate the relationship between dietary habits and the occurrence and severity of PMS. Methods and results: Forty-seven women were enrolled in the study. Participants were asked to complete the Daily Record of Severity of Problems (DRSP) to diagnose PMS and to complete a three-day food record during the perimenstrual phase. Thirty women completed the study (16 with PMS and 14 controls). An analysis of the food diaries revealed no differences between the women with PMS and the control subjects in terms of total energy intake (1649 vs. 1570 kcal/day), diet composition, and the consumption of macro- or micronutrients, except for copper, whose consumption was higher in women with PMS than in the control subjects (1.27 ± 0.51 vs. 0.94 ± 0.49 mg/d, p < 0.05). Conclusions: The data presented here are very preliminary, and only a significant difference in copper intake was found when comparing women with PMS and controls. Larger studies are needed to better define how diet may contribute to the exacerbation of the psychological and somatic symptoms associated with PMS and whether PMS itself may influence macro- or micronutrient intake by changing dietary habits.
Reproduced under CC-BY.
Topics
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