---
title: Does severe PMS cause women to miss work or perform worse at their jobs?
description: Yes. Women with moderate to severe PMS miss more work and perform worse than those with mild symptoms, even accounting for age and job type.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/association-of-severity-of-premenstrual-disorders-with-absenteeism-and-2025/
---

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- Does severe PMS cause women to miss work or perform worse at their jobs?

Survey study, 2025

# Does severe PMS cause women to miss work or perform worse at their jobs?

Yes. Women with moderate to severe PMS miss more work and perform worse than those with mild symptoms, even accounting for age and job type.

 Moderate study design

2,987 working women across Japan before menopause.

## What they did

Surveyed 2,987 working women across Japan about PMS severity and how much it affected work attendance and job performance.

## What they found

Women with moderate to severe PMS had a two-fold risk of missing work compared to those with mild PMS. They were 18-30% less productive. Two-thirds of women with severe PMS reported at least 30% reduction in work performance without missing work.

## What it means for you

Severe PMS has a large impact on work, especially through reduced performance rather than absences. However, the study is observational so we cannot prove PMS causes work loss, and results apply only to Japan.

2,987

working women surveyed

two-fold

higher risk of missing work with moderate-to-severe PMS

18-30%

reduction in work performance with moderate-to-severe PMS

## About the study

Original title Association of severity of premenstrual disorders with absenteeism and presenteeism among Japanese working women: a cross-sectional study Authors Iida M, Namba M, Nomura K Journal Industrial health Year 2025 Study design Survey study Participants 2,987 What was tested Premenstrual disorder severity Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2025-0016](https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2025-0016)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Work and productivity](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-work/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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