Survey study, 2025
Does having asthma or eczema make premenstrual symptoms worse?
Yes. Women with asthma had symptom scores 2.68 points higher than those without, and women with both conditions had scores 4.8 points higher. This cross-sectional study cannot establish whether asthma causes worse PMS.
What they did
Cross-sectional study of 414 women aged 18-31. The researchers collected blood samples from 287 participants to measure inflammation markers. Women self-reported their history of asthma and eczema, and premenstrual symptoms were assessed using the Calendar of Premenstrual Experiences.
What they found
Women with asthma (n=98) had mean total symptom scores 2.68 points higher than those without asthma (P=0.04). Women with both asthma and eczema (n=36) had scores 4.8 points higher than women with neither condition (n=256) (P=0.04).
What it means for you
Having asthma or both asthma and eczema may be linked to worse premenstrual symptoms, possibly through chronic inflammation. The main limitation is the cross-sectional design, which cannot establish causation or the timing of when asthma begins compared to when PMS symptoms start.
287
women who provided blood samples
2.68
points higher symptom score for women with asthma
4.8
points higher score for women with both asthma and eczema
About the study
- Original title
- Association of asthma and allergy history with premenstrual symptom severity in young adult women
- Authors
- Isabella Caruso, Donghao Lu, Sofija Zagarins et al.
- Journal
- Journal of Affective Disorders Reports
- Year
- 2025
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 287
- What was tested
- None
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.jadr.2025.100871
Topics
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