Cohort study, 1991
What patterns do PMS symptoms follow during the menstrual cycle?
Most PMS symptoms follow a clear pattern that changes with cycle phases, with the most common being low at some times and high at others. Individual women showed varied patterns, suggesting different subtypes may exist.
What they did
Seven women under 35 years old, of average body weight, who had completed a full-term pregnancy kept daily records of their symptoms for one complete menstrual cycle. Researchers analyzed 399 symptom cases representing 57 different symptoms to see how symptoms changed across cycle phases.
What they found
Symptom scores in the premenstrual phase were significantly higher than baseline scores. Of the 246 symptoms that showed some cycle-related change (62% of all symptoms studied), the classic PMS pattern of low and high severity was the most common, occurring in 40% of cases. Researchers identified seven different symptom pattern subtypes. The majority of symptoms (65%) displayed only two pattern types, suggesting a common rhythm to how symptoms change.
What it means for you
Symptoms in PMS are tied to the menstrual cycle in most women, but patterns are not identical across all women. The sample size was very small (only seven women), which limits how much we can generalize these findings.
7
women tracked
62%
of symptoms showed cycle-related changes
40%
showed classic low-high pattern
About the study
- Original title
- Symptom patterns in women with premenstrual syndrome complaints: a prospective assessment using a marker for ovulation and screening criteria for adequate ovarian function
- Authors
- Sveinsdottir H, Reame N
- Journal
- Journal of advanced nursing
- Year
- 1991
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Participants
- 399
- What was tested
- None; observational symptom tracking
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.1991.tb01727.x