Case-control study, 2025
How does PMDD and PMS affect thinking skills across the menstrual cycle?
Women with PMDD had larger changes in thinking skills between cycle phases than those with PMS. Language and abstract thinking improved during the follicular phase in all groups.
What they did
Case-control study. Sixty women (mean age 24.47) were grouped as controls, PMS, or PMDD. They took a cognitive assessment during two menstrual phases: luteal and follicular.
What they found
PMDD group showed the most significant cognitive differences between phases (p < .001, η²p = .25). Language and abstraction significantly improved during the follicular phase (p < .000 for language, p < .001 for abstraction, η²p = .25). The luteal phase showed the most cognitive differences across all groups.
What it means for you
PMDD causes larger changes in thinking skills across the cycle than PMS. A new finding is that language and abstract thinking improve during the follicular phase. The study was small with non-random sampling and tool limitations, so results need confirmation.
60
Total women studied
p < .001
PMDD cognitive phase differences
24.47
Mean age in years
About the study
- Original title
- Pre and Post Menstruation Cognitive Functioning in Women with remenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, Premenstrual Syndrome and Controls: A Quasi Experimental Study
- Authors
- Rabbani H, Irfan S, Khanum S
- Journal
- BMC women's health
- Year
- 2025
- Study design
- Case-control study
- Participants
- 60
- What was tested
- None
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1186/s12905-025-04103-5
Topics
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