---
title: Does water retention in the body cause breast pain? | Niyora
description: A study of 56 women measured body water levels at different times in their menstrual cycle. Most women did not show the expected increase in water before mens
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/mastalgia-and-total-body-water-1975/
---

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- Does water retention in the body cause breast pain?

Study, 1975

# Does water retention in the body cause breast pain?

A study of 56 women measured body water levels at different times in their menstrual cycle. Most women did not show the expected increase in water before menstruation, and changes in water did not match whether women had breast pain.

 Moderate study design

56 women, 39 with breast pain and the rest without symptoms

## What they did

Researchers measured total body water in 56 women (39 with breast pain, the rest without symptoms) at the beginning and end of their menstrual cycles.

## What they found

Most women did not show the expected increase in body water before menstruation. In some women, water decreased during the cycle, and in others it stayed the same from early in the cycle. No pattern of water change correlated with breast pain or with emotional profiles.

## What it means for you

Although it was thought that water retention causes breast pain, this study found no connection between the two. This suggests water retention is not the cause of breast pain.

56

women studied

39

women with breast pain

## About the study

Original title Mastalgia and total body water Authors Preece PE, Richards AR, Owen GM et al. Journal British medical journal Year 1975 Study design Study Participants 56 Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1136/bmj.4.5995.498](https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.4.5995.498)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Bloating, breast tenderness and physical symptoms](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-physical-symptoms/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)

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Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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