---
title: How common is PMS in young Iranian women? | Niyora
description: PMS is very common: almost all young women have at least one PMS symptom, and 16% have clinically significant PMS. Younger women aged 18-20 have more severe s
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/prevalence-and-severity-of-premenstrual-symptoms-among-iranian-female-university-2009/
---

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- How common is PMS in young Iranian women?

Survey study, 2009

# How common is PMS in young Iranian women?

PMS is very common: almost all young women have at least one PMS symptom, and 16% have clinically significant PMS. Younger women aged 18-20 have more severe symptoms than slightly older women.

 Moderate study design

300 Iranian female university students aged 18-27

## What they did

300 female university students aged 18-27 in Iran completed a questionnaire about premenstrual symptoms based on medical diagnostic criteria for PMS.

## What they found

98.2% reported at least one mild to severe premenstrual symptom. 16% met the medical criteria for PMS. The most common symptoms were tiredness or lethargy (84%), depressed mood (72.3%), sudden sadness or tearfulness (70.3%), anxiety (70%), backache (69%), and sleep problems (66%). Younger women aged 18-20 had significantly more severe symptoms than women aged 21-27.

## What it means for you

Premenstrual symptoms are almost universal in young Iranian women, though only a minority have severe enough symptoms to be diagnosed with PMS. This is only university students in Iran, so it may not represent all young Iranian women.

300

women surveyed

98.2%

reported at least one symptom

16%

met PMS diagnostic criteria

## About the study

Original title Prevalence and severity of premenstrual symptoms among Iranian female university students Authors Bakhshani NM, Mousavi MN, Khodabandeh G Journal JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association Year 2009 Study design Survey study Participants 300 Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19402278/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19402278/)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Fatigue and energy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-fatigue/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/)

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Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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