Survey study, 2006
Does the menstrual cycle affect how severe OCD symptoms are?
Yes. For many women with OCD, symptoms get worse before their period, with nearly half reporting this pattern. The menstrual cycle should be considered when assessing OCD severity.
What they did
They sent questionnaires to 350 women with OCD and asked about symptom changes during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, menopause, use of hormonal contraceptives, and medication. They asked women to rate their OCD symptom severity at three times during their menstrual cycle. 101 women completed and returned the questionnaire.
What they found
49 women reported that OCD symptoms got worse before their period. 9 women reported worsening during menopause. During pregnancy, 17 women reported symptoms got worse but 11 women reported symptoms got better.
What it means for you
For a large number of women with OCD, symptoms become more severe before the period, suggesting hormones affect OCD. The menstrual cycle should be tracked when assessing OCD severity. The study had a low response rate (only 29% of questionnaires were returned), so results may not represent all women with OCD.
49
Women reporting OCD worsening before period
101
Completed questionnaires returned
350
Total questionnaires sent
About the study
- Original title
- Female hormones affect symptom severity in obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Authors
- Vulink NC, Denys D, Bus L et al.
- Journal
- International clinical psychopharmacology
- Year
- 2006
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 17
- What was tested
- None
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1097/01.yic.0000199454.62423.99
Topics
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