Cohort study, 1994
Do a woman's PMS symptoms predict what symptoms she will have at menopause?
Yes. The type and severity of premenstrual symptoms significantly predict the type and severity of menopausal symptoms a woman experiences 10 years later.
What they did
A cohort study of 60 Australian women asked them to complete questionnaires about symptoms when premenopausal and again 10 years later when postmenopausal. Researchers compared expected versus experienced symptoms and tracked which premenstrual symptoms predicted which menopausal symptoms.
What they found
The type and severity of premenstrual symptoms experienced as a younger woman significantly predicted the type and severity of menopausal symptoms 10 years later. More premenstrual symptoms predicted later menopausal symptoms than the reverse. Symptoms changed over time: fewer women experienced hot flushes, headaches, depression, and nervousness after menopause, while more experienced insomnia, increased appetite, abdominal fullness, numbness, and muscular problems.
What it means for you
Premenstrual symptoms may reflect underlying biological patterns that also shape menopausal symptoms, suggesting the two experiences may be linked. Women's expectations about menopause also shaped their actual experience. The main limitation is that women reported forgetting about their menstrual cycle problems over the 10 years, which may have affected accuracy.
60
women studied
10 years
follow-up period
About the study
- Original title
- Changes in Australian women's perception of the menopause and menopausal symptoms before and after the climacteric
- Authors
- Abraham S, Llewellyn-Jones D, Perz J
- Journal
- Maturitas
- Year
- 1994
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Participants
- 60
- What was tested
- None (observation only)
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/0378-5122(94)90007-8
Topics
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