Survey study, 2023
Are PMS symptoms linked to loneliness in adolescent girls during COVID-19?
Yes. Girls with worse PMS symptoms were more likely to feel lonely. About 29% of girls felt lonely, and 16% of lonely girls had serious psychological distress.
What they did
They surveyed 1450 high school girls in Japan in December 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Girls answered questions about loneliness, PMS symptoms, psychological distress, and fear of COVID-19.
What they found
29% of girls felt lonely. Of all girls, 8.2% had serious psychological distress, but this was much higher (16%) among girls who felt lonely. Girls with worse PMS symptoms were more likely to feel lonely. Being in 2nd year of school, using the internet for longer periods, and having more psychological distress were also linked to loneliness.
What it means for you
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many adolescent girls felt lonely and struggled with psychological distress. Girls with more PMS symptoms were more likely to feel lonely. This suggests that both physical symptoms and mental health are connected during stressful times. The limitation is that this was only done in Japan during one period of the pandemic, and all participants were high school girls.
1450
girls studied
29%
felt lonely
16%
of lonely girls had serious psychological distress
About the study
- Original title
- Association Between Loneliness, Premenstrual Symptoms, and Other Factors During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study with Japanese High School Students
- Authors
- Takeda T, Yoshimi K, Kai S et al.
- Journal
- International journal of women's health
- Year
- 2023
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 1,450
- What was tested
- Measurement of associations between loneliness, PMS symptoms, and psychological distress
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.2147/ijwh.s400818
Topics
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