Survey study, 1999
What are the main symptom clusters in PMS and how do they vary during the menstrual cycle?
Four main clusters were identified: turmoil, fluid retention, somatic symptoms, and arousal symptoms. Some clusters remain consistent across the cycle, while others change more.
What they did
Researchers used statistical tests to analyze symptom patterns reported by women in the general population and by women with different levels of PMS severity, identifying which symptoms tend to occur together.
What they found
Four symptom clusters explained more than 40% of the variation in women's symptoms. Turmoil and fluid retention had strong consistency across reports. Arousal and somatic symptoms stayed most similar across different phases of the menstrual cycle, while fluid retention and turmoil symptoms changed more over time.
What it means for you
PMS symptoms fit into recognizable groups that emerge and fade at different times in the cycle. This helps doctors understand what women experience, though the study only explained 40% of symptom variation, so other factors also matter.
4
main symptom clusters identified
>40%
of symptom variation explained
>.70
alpha level for turmoil and fluid retention
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual symptoms: delineating symptom clusters
- Authors
- Woods NF, Mitchell ES, Lentz M
- Journal
- Journal of women's health & gender-based medicine
- Year
- 1999
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- None
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1089/jwh.1.1999.8.1053
Topics
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