Interview study, 2026
How do women with irregular menstrual cycles experience and manage premenstrual symptoms?
Women reported multiple symptoms including mood changes, pain, and bloating, and used various coping methods like pain relievers and heat, but most methods provided only partial relief. The unpredictability of symptoms in irregular cycles caused loss of control and distress.
What they did
Qualitative study using phenomenological design. 14 women of reproductive age with irregular menstrual cycles who experienced premenstrual symptoms were interviewed one-on-one using a semi-structured interview form. Interviews lasted an average of 20-30 minutes, were recorded and transcribed, and data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
What they found
Five main themes emerged: multidimensional symptom experience (mood changes, irritability, pain, breast tenderness, bloating, skin problems, changes in eating behavior, and social withdrawal), inadequate coping and loss of control, individual and mostly unstructured coping strategies, variable effectiveness of coping methods, and functional impairment in daily life. Participants used analgesics, hormonal medication, herbal tea, warm showers, heat application, and being alone to cope, but most methods provided only partial and temporary relief.
What it means for you
Women with irregular cycles struggle to predict when PMS will happen, which adds stress and makes it harder to manage symptoms. They need more personalized, evidence-based support and psychosocial help. The main limitation is that this is a small qualitative study from one country, so the findings may not apply everywhere.
14
women interviewed
23.21 ± 2.54
mean age in years
5
themes identified
About the study
- Original title
- Coping with premenstrual symptoms among women with irregular menstrual cycles: a qualitative study from Turkey
- Authors
- İclal İlknur Özdemir, Emine Avcu, Seçil Topaloğlu Eti
- Journal
- BMC Women s Health
- Year
- 2026
- Study design
- Interview study
- Participants
- 14
- What was tested
- None; this was descriptive research
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1186/s12905-026-04748-w
Topics
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