Survey study, 2026
Does diet affect PMS severity?
Yes. Women eating a Western-style diet were 2.35 times more likely to have severe PMS than those with a healthy diet. Women eating very little food had up to 3 times higher odds of moderate or severe PMS. However, this does not prove diet causes PMS.
What they did
609 women aged 18-35 from Central Europe reported what they ate using a food frequency questionnaire and rated their PMS symptoms. Researchers grouped their eating patterns into three types: healthy, Western-style, and very low food intake.
What they found
Compared to healthy eating, women following a Western diet were 2.35 times more likely to have severe PMS (95% CI 1.02-5.44). Women with very low food intake were 2.92 times more likely to have moderate PMS (95% CI 1.09-7.84) and 3.01 times more likely to have severe PMS (95% CI 1.14-7.92).
What it means for you
Eating patterns may be connected to PMS severity, with Western diets and very restricted eating linked to worse symptoms. But this was a snapshot study so we cannot prove diet causes PMS. The link could work the other way, or both could be caused by something else. Controlled studies would be needed to test this.
609
women studied
2.35
times higher odds of severe PMS with Western diet
3.01
times higher odds of severe PMS with very low food intake
About the study
- Original title
- Dietary patterns are associated with premenstrual symptoms: a cross-sectional study among women from Central Europe
- Authors
- Granda D, Szmidt MK, Jarmuzek-Orska P et al.
- Journal
- Scientific reports
- Year
- 2026
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 609
- What was tested
- Dietary patterns were observed, not assigned in an experiment
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-58236-0
Topics
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