Survey study, 1982
Do women remember their PMS symptoms accurately when asked to recall them?
No. Women overestimated symptoms when recalling them weeks later compared to what they had recorded daily. Only menstrual cramps and backache showed agreement between methods.
What they did
73 women aged 18 to 35 kept daily records of their symptoms for 2 months. After the 2-month period, they completed a questionnaire asking them to recall their symptoms from their last menstrual period.
What they found
Estimates of all symptoms on the questionnaire were higher than what women had recorded daily. The biggest differences between the two methods appeared for water retention and negative mood symptoms. Menstrual cramps and premenstrual backache were the only symptoms that showed agreement between the daily diary and the questionnaire.
What it means for you
Women tend to overestimate how severe their symptoms are when asked to remember them. Daily tracking is likely more accurate than remembering symptoms later. The study was limited because it only included women from middle-income neighborhoods.
73
women studied
2 months
daily tracking period
mood changes
biggest differences
About the study
- Original title
- Estimating perimenstrual distress: a comparison of two methods
- Authors
- Woods NF, Most A, Dery GK
- Journal
- Research in nursing & health
- Year
- 1982
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- None
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1002/nur.4770050209
Topics
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