---
title: Do women with PMS have different physical stress responses than women without PMS?
description: The study found that women with and without PMS showed opposite patterns of physical response at different cycle times, which was unexpected. Women with PMS r
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/skin-conductance-and-heart-rate-in-women-with-premenstrual-syndrome-1988/
---

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- Do women with PMS have different physical stress responses than women without PMS?

Case-control study, 1988

# Do women with PMS have different physical stress responses than women without PMS?

The study found that women with and without PMS showed opposite patterns of physical response at different cycle times, which was unexpected. Women with PMS reported more stress after their period.

 Early or limited evidence

Women with and without premenstrual syndrome

## What they did

Researchers tested women with PMS and women without PMS at two different times in their cycle. They measured skin conductance and heart rate while women listened to tones, did proofreading, and word-association tasks.

## What they found

Non-PMS women showed higher skin conductance and heart rate responses to tones before menstruation. Women with PMS showed higher responses after menstruation. Women with PMS reported experiencing more stress after their period.

## What it means for you

The differences may be related to what women expect to feel rather than real physical changes. The main limitation is that the sample size is not given in the abstract.

## About the study

Original title Skin conductance and heart rate in women with premenstrual syndrome Authors Kirsch JR, Geer JH Journal Psychosomatic medicine Year 1988 Study design Case-control study What was tested None Read the paper [doi.org/10.1097/00006842-198803000-00007](https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-198803000-00007)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)

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