---
title: Do women with PMS have different stress hormone levels when they wake up?
description: Women with PMS showed a flattened stress hormone response upon waking compared to healthy women, especially at 45 and 60 minutes after waking. A blunted corti
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/premenstrual-syndrome-is-associated-with-altered-cortisol-awakening-response-2019/
---

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- Do women with PMS have different stress hormone levels when they wake up?

Case-control study, 2019

# Do women with PMS have different stress hormone levels when they wake up?

Women with PMS showed a flattened stress hormone response upon waking compared to healthy women, especially at 45 and 60 minutes after waking. A blunted cortisol response may be linked to PMS development, but the study is small.

 Early or limited evidence

32 women with PMS and 36 healthy controls (mean age about 22 years)

## What they did

Researchers compared 32 women with PMS to 36 healthy women. They collected saliva samples at 0, 30, 45, and 60 minutes after waking during two menstrual cycle phases: mid-follicular and late-luteal.

## What they found

Women with PMS had a significantly attenuated cortisol awakening response compared to healthy controls, especially at 45 and 60 minutes after awakening, regardless of menstrual cycle phase. There was a significant negative correlation between PMS severity and cortisol rise in the mid-follicular phase.

## What it means for you

The blunted stress hormone response upon waking may be a biological marker of PMS risk and could explain why some women are vulnerable to PMS. However, this is a small study of mostly young women, and it does not explain whether this difference causes PMS or results from it. Larger, more diverse studies are needed.

32

women with PMS

36

healthy controls

45 and 60 min

time points with most attenuated response

## About the study

Original title Premenstrual syndrome is associated with altered cortisol awakening response Authors Hou L, Huang Y, Zhou R Journal Stress (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Year 2019 Study design Case-control study What was tested None; observational study Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1080/10253890.2019.1608943](https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890.2019.1608943)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Relationships and partners](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-relationships/)

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