---
title: Do emotional problems get worse before menstruation for women veterans?
description: Yes, about 4 in 10 women veterans reported their emotional problems got worse before menstruation. Many also reported emotional changes during pregnancy, afte
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/gender-specific-mental-health-care-needs-of-women-veterans-treated-for-2015/
---

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- Do emotional problems get worse before menstruation for women veterans?

Survey study, 2015

# Do emotional problems get worse before menstruation for women veterans?

Yes, about 4 in 10 women veterans reported their emotional problems got worse before menstruation. Many also reported emotional changes during pregnancy, after birth, and perimenopause.

 Early or limited evidence

68 women veterans receiving psychiatric care at a VA Women's Health Clinic

## What they did

Researchers asked 68 women veterans at a VA clinic about when their emotional problems got worse. They used a questionnaire, interviews, and medical records over a 5-month period.

## What they found

42.6% said their emotional problems got worse before menstruation. 33.3% during pregnancy, 33.3% after birth, and 18.2% during perimenopause. 22.1% had painful sex and 17.6% had pelvic pain. Of pregnancies, 70.0% were unintended and 63.5% of women who had been pregnant experienced pregnancy loss.

## What it means for you

For women veterans receiving mental health care, hormonal cycle changes affect emotional symptoms, and pain during or around sex and in the pelvis are common alongside psychiatric symptoms. The study asked women to remember past experiences, so it describes what women reported rather than proving menstruation was the cause.

42.6%

reported emotional problems worse before period

70.0%

had unintended pregnancies

22.1%

had painful sex

## About the study

Original title Gender-specific mental health care needs of women veterans treated for psychiatric disorders in a Veterans Administration Women's Health Clinic Authors Miller LJ, Ghadiali NY Journal Medical care Year 2015 Study design Survey study Participants 68 What was tested None - survey asking about emotional changes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1097/mlr.0000000000000282](https://doi.org/10.1097/mlr.0000000000000282)

## Topics

[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Perimenopause and menopause](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-perimenopause/)[Pregnancy and postpartum](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-postpartum/)

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