Study, 2015
How do women with PMS respond to stress compared to women without PMS?
Women with PMS show a weaker stress response in their body than women without PMS, measured by cortisol (a stress hormone). This difference was consistent regardless of where they were in their menstrual cycle.
What they did
36 women with PMS (average age 21.69 years) and 36 control women (average age 22.03 years) did a stress test. Half of each group tested during their follicular phase and half during late luteal phase. Researchers measured cortisol from saliva, heart rate, and stress levels at multiple time points.
What they found
Women with PMS showed lower cortisol responses to stress compared to control women, regardless of menstrual cycle phase. Heart rate and cortisol levels were lower during late luteal phase than follicular phase. Cortisol measures were most closely linked to PMS severity, more so than heart rate or how stressed people felt.
What it means for you
Women with PMS may have a dampened stress response system, which could help explain their symptoms. Problems with how their bodies handle cortisol during stress might be an important biological factor in PMS. This was a small study, so more research is needed to confirm the findings.
36
women with PMS
36
control women
21.69 years
average age of PMS group
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual syndrome is associated with blunted cortisol reactivity to the TSST
- Authors
- Huang Y, Zhou R, Wu M et al.
- Journal
- Stress (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
- Year
- 2015
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 18
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.3109/10253890.2014.999234
Topics
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