---
title: When in the menstrual cycle do symptoms reach their peak? | Niyora
description: Symptoms peak during menstruation, not before it. Only 13 percent of women showed a pattern of symptoms worsening before menstruation.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/premenstrual-symptoms-another-look-1987/
---

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- When in the menstrual cycle do symptoms reach their peak?

Survey study, 1987

# When in the menstrual cycle do symptoms reach their peak?

Symptoms peak during menstruation, not before it. Only 13 percent of women showed a pattern of symptoms worsening before menstruation.

 Early or limited evidence

345 multiethnic women from the community

## What they did

345 multiethnic community women recorded symptom severity daily for 90 days on a scale from not present to extreme.

## What they found

Maximum total symptom scores occurred during menstruation, not before it. Less than 15 percent had moderate to extreme individual symptoms during menstruation. Only 13 percent showed increased symptom severity before menstruation, and another 13 percent showed decreased severity. Six different symptom severity patterns were identified across the cycle.

## What it means for you

For most women, symptoms are worst during their period, not before it. This challenges the common belief that premenstrual syndrome means symptoms get worse before menstruation. The main limitation is that this was based on daily self-reporting and we do not know if women were aware they were being studied for cycle patterns.

345

multiethnic community women

13%

showed increased symptoms before menstruation

less than 15%

had moderate to extreme individual symptoms

## About the study

Original title Premenstrual symptoms: another look Authors Woods NF Journal Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974) Year 1987 Study design Survey study Participants 345 Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3120207/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3120207/)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)

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