Survey study, 2015
How common are PMS and PMDD in college athletes and do they affect athletic performance?
About 8.6% of Japanese college athletes have moderate to severe PMS and 2.9% have PMDD. Nearly half of athletes (44.3%) said their athletic performance suffered during their cycle.
What they did
Cross-sectional survey of 232 female college athletes at a university in Osaka, Japan. They asked about premenstrual symptoms and how these affected their sports performance.
What they found
8.6% met criteria for moderate to severe PMS, 2.9% for PMDD. 44.3% of athletes reported their performance suffered. Elite athletes were at higher risk of performance drops, as were those with difficulty concentrating and fatigue.
What it means for you
Premenstrual symptoms can affect both daily life and sports performance in college athletes. The main limit is this was one university in Japan and the study is cross-sectional, so we cannot prove the symptoms caused the performance drops.
8.6%
moderate to severe PMS
2.9%
PMDD
44.3%
athletic performance affected
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual Syndrome and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder in Japanese Collegiate Athletes
- Authors
- Takeda T, Imoto Y, Nagasawa H et al.
- Journal
- Journal of pediatric and adolescent gynecology
- Year
- 2015
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 232
- What was tested
- None. This was an observational study.
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.jpag.2014.07.006
Topics
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