Survey study, 1994
Is low beta-endorphin linked to PMS symptoms?
Anxiety, food cravings and physical discomfort were associated with lower beta-endorphin levels, but other PMS symptoms were equally common in both groups. This suggests there may be different subtypes of PMS.
What they did
Cross-sectional study of 46 women with PMS aged 21 to 32. All completed a questionnaire based on DSM-III-R criteria. Serum beta-endorphin levels were measured on day 1 and day 20 of their menstrual cycle and compared with symptom presentation.
What they found
Anxiety, food cravings and physical discomfort were associated with significant decline in beta-endorphin. Other symptoms were found equally distributed between women with and without beta-endorphin decline. The authors postulated the existence of different PMS subtypes based on beta-endorphin patterns.
What it means for you
Some PMS symptoms (anxiety, food cravings, physical discomfort) may be linked to lower levels of beta-endorphin. This could explain why different women experience different PMS symptoms. Main limitations: small study of only 46 women, no control group, and only two measurements of hormone levels.
46
Women with PMS studied
21-32 years
Age range of participants
About the study
- Original title
- Symptoms of premenstrual syndrome as a function of beta-endorphin: two subtypes
- Authors
- Giannini AJ, Melemis SM, Martin DM et al.
- Journal
- Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry
- Year
- 1994
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- None.
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/0278-5846(94)90063-9