Study, 1983
Why do moods change during the menstrual cycle in women with PMS?
Negative moods start after ovulation and peak in the last 5 days before menstruation, then improve within one or two days of menstruation. However, hormone levels don't differ between women with big mood changes and those with small changes.
What they did
Researchers tracked mood changes across the menstrual cycle in women with PMS. They compared hormone levels in women with large cyclical mood swings to those with smaller changes.
What they found
Negative changes start soon after ovulation, gradually increase as the corpus luteum develops, and reach a maximum during the last 5 days of the luteal phase. They decline rapidly once menstruation starts and disappear within one or two days of ovarian steroids reaching baseline. Positive moods are at maximum when preovulatory estradiol reaches its peak. Hormone levels of progesterone, estradiol, testosterone, and androstenedione showed no difference between women with high versus low degrees of cyclical mood change.
What it means for you
Mood problems in PMS follow a clear pattern tied to when hormones change across the cycle. However, since women with identical hormone levels can have very different mood symptoms, hormone amount alone doesn't explain PMS. Something else is involved.
5
last days of luteal phase when negative mood is worst
1-2
days until mood improves after menstruation starts
About the study
- Original title
- Mood, sexuality, hormones, and the menstrual cycle. II. Hormone levels and their relationship to the premenstrual syndrome
- Authors
- Bäckström T, Sanders D, Leask R et al.
- Journal
- Psychosomatic medicine
- Year
- 1983
- Study design
- Study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1097/00006842-198312000-00004
Topics
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