Cohort study, 2017
How common is PMS in high school students, and what symptoms and problems does it cause?
About 3 in 10 of the Thai high school students in this study had PMS, and the most common symptoms were angry outbursts and breast tenderness. PMS was linked to problems with concentration and schoolwork, but not with how they got along with others.
What they did
A prospective study of 399 menstruating high school students in Khon Kaen, Thailand. Students filled out a daily diary of symptoms for 90 days, and researchers used official diagnostic criteria to identify PMS.
What they found
289 of 399 students (72.4%) completed the diary. Of these, 86 (29.8%, with a likely range of 24.5% to 35.4%) had PMS. The most common symptoms were angry outbursts (97.7%) and breast tenderness (74.4%). Students with PMS had more trouble concentrating, staying motivated, and doing individual and group schoolwork, and had lower scores, but did not have more problems getting along with others compared to students without PMS.
What it means for you
PMS is common among teenage students and seems to hurt school performance, even though it doesn't seem to affect relationships with others in this study. The findings come from one city in Thailand, so they may not apply everywhere, and over a quarter of students dropped out of the diary-keeping.
29.8%
had PMS
97.7%
had angry outbursts
74.4%
had breast tenderness
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) among high school students
- Authors
- Buddhabunyakan N, Kaewrudee S, Chongsomchai C et al.
- Journal
- International journal of women's health
- Year
- 2017
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Participants
- 399
- What was tested
- None (observational tracking of symptoms over 90 days)
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.2147/ijwh.s140679
Topics
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