--- title: Which premenstrual symptoms change with the menstrual cycle in midlife women? description: Mood, muscle and nerve, and body-wide symptoms worsen before the period in women reporting PMS. Hot flashes and sleep problems do not follow this pattern, and url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/menstrual-cycle-phase-menopausal-transition-stage-self-reports-of-premenstrual-2022/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Which premenstrual symptoms change with the menstrual cycle in midlife women? Study, 2022 # Which premenstrual symptoms change with the menstrual cycle in midlife women? Mood, muscle and nerve, and body-wide symptoms worsen before the period in women reporting PMS. Hot flashes and sleep problems do not follow this pattern, and menopausal transition stage does not affect any symptoms. Moderate study design 290 women in late reproductive stages or early menopausal transition ## What they did 290 women in late reproductive years or early menopausal transition tracked five types of symptoms daily for at least one full menstrual cycle and reported whether they had PMS. Severity was compared between the time after the period and before the period. ## What they found Mood symptoms, muscle and nerve symptoms, and body-wide symptoms (like bloating) were significantly worse before the period than after, and were affected by whether a woman had PMS. Hot flashes and sleep problems did not worsen before the period and were not affected by PMS. Menopausal stage did not affect any of the five symptom groups. ## What it means for you Some premenstrual symptoms clearly follow the menstrual cycle and are linked to PMS, while others do not. This pattern stays the same regardless of menopausal stage. More research spanning the entire menopausal transition with daily symptom tracking is needed. 290 women in the study ## About the study Original title Menstrual cycle phase, menopausal transition stage, self-reports of premenstrual syndrome and symptom severity: observations from the Seattle Midlife Women's Health Study Authors Mitchell ES, Woods NF Journal Menopause (New York, N.Y.) Year 2022 Study design Study Participants 290 Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1097/gme.0000000000002068](https://doi.org/10.1097/gme.0000000000002068) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Sleep and insomnia](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-sleep/)[Perimenopause and menopause](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-perimenopause/)[Work and productivity](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-work/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Randomised trial, 2001 Do changing reproductive hormones disrupt the body's internal clock and cause mood disorders? Systematic review, 2026 Why do some women experience mood changes linked to their menstrual cycle? Survey study, 2025 Do women with bipolar disorder who had PMS or postpartum depression have worse mood problems during menopause? Lab study, 2023 Does sleep change across the menstrual cycle? Survey study, 2022 Are depressive symptoms linked to menstrual distress? Survey study, 2022 What factors are associated with irregular menstrual cycles and how do irregular cycles affect other symptoms? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗