---
title: What causes PMS and how should adolescents with it be treated?
description: The exact cause of PMS is not yet known. Adolescents with PMS should be managed with reassurance, diet, and exercise rather than medication, because no single
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/common-menstrual-disorders-1989/
---

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- What causes PMS and how should adolescents with it be treated?

Randomised trial, 1989

# What causes PMS and how should adolescents with it be treated?

The exact cause of PMS is not yet known. Adolescents with PMS should be managed with reassurance, diet, and exercise rather than medication, because no single treatment has been proven effective in rigorous studies.

 Moderate study design

Young girls and adolescents, with reference to older women

## What they did

This is a clinical review summarizing what is known about PMS in young women and adolescents. The authors reviewed literature on how common PMS is, what might cause it, and what treatments have been tested.

## What they found

PMS is uncommon in young girls and adolescents but becomes more common as women age. Up to 40% of older women experience PMS. The biological causes of PMS have not been identified. Randomized double-blind crossover studies have failed to confirm that any one treatment works.

## What it means for you

Because we don't know what causes PMS and no medicine has proven benefit, the best approach for adolescents is non-medication strategies: reassurance, diet changes, and exercise. This is a review of existing knowledge, not a new study, so it reflects expert opinion rather than new data.

40

percent of older women with PMS

## About the study

Original title Common menstrual disorders Authors Coupey SM, Ahlstrom P Journal Pediatric clinics of North America Year 1989 Study design Randomised trial Participants 40 Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/s0031-3955(16)36685-8](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0031-3955(16)36685-8)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Dysmenorrhea and period pain](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-dysmenorrhea/)[Adolescents and young people](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-adolescents/)

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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