Cohort study, 2026
What premenstrual symptoms do women most often seek treatment for, and does this change with age?
Fatigue and mood swings were the most common moderate-to-severe symptoms, and psychological symptoms were reported more often than physical ones. Women in their 40s were less likely to report appetite changes and food cravings than women in their 20s.
What they did
Researchers looked back at records of 199 women, aged 20 to 49, who visited a gynecology clinic in Japan for premenstrual symptoms between November 2022 and May 2023. They checked how common 31 different premenstrual symptoms were and compared results across age groups.
What they found
Women in their 20s were the largest group, and 89.9% of them had dysmenorrhea (painful periods). Fatigue (71.9%) and mood swings (70.9%) were the most common moderate-to-severe symptoms overall. Compared with women in their 20s, women in their 40s had much lower odds of appetite changes (adjusted odds ratio 0.10), overeating (aOR 0.19), and specific food cravings (aOR 0.09).
What it means for you
Psychological symptoms like fatigue and mood swings seem to be the main reason women seek help, and appetite-related symptoms may matter less as women get older. This was a one-time look back at clinic records from a single site, not a long-term tracking study, so it cannot show how symptoms change over time for the same woman.
89.9%
Had dysmenorrhea (women in 20s)
71.9%
Reported fatigue
70.9%
Reported mood swings
About the study
- Original title
- Symptoms experienced by Japanese women seeking treatment for premenstrual symptoms and age-related differences: a cross-sectional study
- Authors
- Ogawa M, Valckx K, Iida M et al.
- Journal
- Fukushima journal of medical science
- Year
- 2026
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Participants
- 199
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.5387/fms.26-00003
Topics
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