Interview study, 1988
Can a data-analysis method help scientists better track and study menstrual cycle symptoms?
This paper argues yes: a technique called trend analysis can give useful day-by-day information about menstrual cycle symptoms and premenstrual syndrome, but it is a methods discussion, not a study that tests whether this helps individual women feel better.
What they did
This is a technical paper, not a patient study. It describes the many changes linked to the menstrual cycle and demonstrates a mathematical approach called 'trend analysis' for examining daily menstrual cycle and premenstrual syndrome data.
What they found
The authors note that the ovarian cycle is linked to more than 200 physical, psychological and behavioural changes, and that other medical conditions also seem to be affected by it. Objectively measuring these changes is difficult, and the paper shows how trend analysis can give both qualitative and quantitative information from daily menstrual cycle data, including for premenstrual syndrome.
What it means for you
This is about a research tool for studying cycle-related changes, not a treatment. It could help researchers describe and measure PMS more precisely, but the paper does not report results from real patients or test whether any treatment works.
>200
changes linked to the ovarian cycle
About the study
- Original title
- Effects and analysis of the menstrual cycle
- Authors
- Magos AL
- Journal
- Journal of biomedical engineering
- Year
- 1988
- Study design
- Interview study
- What was tested
- None tested; describes a data-analysis technique ('trend analysis'), not a treatment
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/0141-5425(88)90082-9