Cohort study, 2016
Is inflammation linked to premenstrual symptoms?
Yes, high inflammation (measured as hs-CRP above 3 mg/L) was associated with mood problems, cramping, bloating, and breast pain in this study. Cross-sectional design means we cannot prove inflammation causes these symptoms.
What they did
Cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a racially and ethnically diverse cohort of 2939 midlife women in the SWAN study. Researchers measured inflammation (hs-CRP) and grouped eight premenstrual symptoms into five categories.
What they found
Having hs-CRP above 3 mg/L was significantly associated with mood symptoms, abdominal cramps and back pain, appetite cravings/weight gain/bloating, and breast pain. It was not associated with headaches or having three or more PMS symptoms overall.
What it means for you
If you have high inflammation, this might explain some of your PMS symptoms and suggests anti-inflammatory treatments could help. The main limitation is that this is cross-sectional data taken at one time point, so we cannot determine whether inflammation causes PMS or results from it.
2939
women studied
>3 mg/L
hs-CRP level associated with PMS
1.40
odds ratio for cramps and back pain with high inflammation
About the study
- Original title
- The Association of Inflammation with Premenstrual Symptoms
- Authors
- Gold EB, Wells C, Rasor MO
- Journal
- Journal of women's health (2002)
- Year
- 2016
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Participants
- 2,939
- What was tested
- None (observational study measuring hs-CRP)
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2015.5529
Topics
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