Lab study, 2002
Is the COPE daily diary a reliable way to track PMS symptoms?
Yes. The COPE diary is reliable for tracking PMS symptoms. Symptoms increase consistently during the luteal phase and group into four recognizable patterns.
What they did
215 healthy women diagnosed with PMS filled out daily diaries tracking 22 behavioral and physical symptoms over two consecutive months. Researchers analyzed how consistently symptoms were reported and whether they grouped into patterns.
What they found
The diary showed strong reliability for mood symptoms and moderate reliability for physical symptoms. Four distinct groups of symptoms emerged: mood symptoms, somatic and cognitive symptoms, appetite-related symptoms, and fluid retention symptoms. These four groups accounted for 64% of the total variation in symptoms reported. When women reported symptoms in consecutive months (during the luteal phase each cycle), three of the four symptom groups increased consistently, and the pattern remained the same from month to month.
What it means for you
The COPE diary is a trustworthy tool for tracking how PMS symptoms change through your cycle and for understanding that PMS has different symptom clusters. One limitation: symptoms may have increased because women were paying attention to them through daily monitoring, so the actual increases might be partly due to focusing on symptoms rather than real changes.
215
Women in study
22
Symptoms tracked daily
4
Symptom groups identified
About the study
- Original title
- Measurement properties of the calendar of premenstrual experience in patients with premenstrual syndrome
- Authors
- Feuerstein M, Shaw WS
- Journal
- The Journal of reproductive medicine
- Year
- 2002
- Study design
- Lab study
- Participants
- 215
- What was tested
- None—this is validating a measurement tool, not testing a treatment
- Read the paper
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12012879/