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.
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/
Topics
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