Cohort study, 2026
Does having worse premenstrual symptoms mean you are more likely to get pregnant?
Women with more severe premenstrual symptoms were more likely to get pregnant during infertility treatment, with pregnancy rates rising from 12.7% to 35.0% across severity groups. However, the reason is unclear because hormone levels were not measured.
What they did
Cohort study of 185 women undergoing a four-month Korean medicine infertility programme. Researchers measured baseline premenstrual symptom severity, then tracked pregnancy rates. Models were adjusted for age, BMI, infertility duration, menstrual cycle irregularity, and prior fertility treatments.
What they found
Higher baseline premenstrual symptom severity was associated with pregnancy. Pregnancy rates increased from 12.7% in the lowest psychological symptom group to 35.0% in the highest. Odds ratios per standard deviation were 1.66 for psychological symptoms, 1.51 for physical symptoms, and 1.43 for other symptoms.
What it means for you
Surprisingly, women with more severe premenstrual symptoms were more likely to get pregnant. The authors suggest symptom severity may reflect stronger ovulation and luteal-phase activity, but this remains unconfirmed because ovulation and progesterone were not measured. The study was in a specific treatment setting (Korean medicine), which may limit generalizability.
12.7%
pregnancy rate in lowest symptom group
35.0%
pregnancy rate in highest symptom group
1.66
odds ratio for psychological symptoms
About the study
- Original title
- Baseline premenstrual symptom severity is associated with pregnancy during Korean medicine infertility treatment: a cohort study
- Authors
- Dongyeop Jang, Su-Ji Choi
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
- Year
- 2026
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Participants
- 185
- What was tested
- Four-month Korean medicine infertility programme
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-68672-7
Topics
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