Survey study, 2022
Are depressive symptoms linked to menstrual distress?
Yes, strongly. Depressive symptoms were significantly associated with menstrual distress in both the premenstrual and menstrual phases, even after accounting for shift work, sleep, and other factors.
What they did
A cross-sectional study of 6878 nurses in South Korea using data from December 2018 to September 2019. Researchers collected information on depression, menstrual distress, shift work, sleep quality, and other health factors.
What they found
Depressive symptoms were significantly associated with menstrual distress in the premenstrual phase (correlation value 1.60, 95% confidence interval 1.49-1.71) and menstrual phase (1.65, 95% CI 1.54-1.76), after adjusting for demographics, health factors, shift work, and sleep quality.
What it means for you
Depression and menstrual distress are closely linked. Clinical care for menstrual distress should include screening for depression and be tailored to each phase of the cycle. However, this study cannot show whether depression causes menstrual distress, menstrual distress causes depression, or both are caused by another factor.
6878
nurses studied
1.60
premenstrual phase correlation
1.65
menstrual phase correlation
About the study
- Original title
- Depressive symptoms and menstrual distress according to the menstrual phase in nurses: the Korea Nurses' Health Study
- Authors
- Kim O, Kim S, Jeon HO et al.
- Journal
- Journal of psychosomatic obstetrics and gynaecology
- Year
- 2022
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 6,878
- What was tested
- None; this was an observational study
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1080/0167482x.2022.2095999
Topics
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