Study, 2012
Does being close to menstruation increase the risk of psychiatric hospital admission?
Yes. 37% of women were admitted within 5 days of their last menstrual period, which is significantly more than would be expected by chance.
What they did
Researchers reviewed medical records of 177 women admitted to psychiatric hospital. They recorded when each woman was admitted relative to her last menstrual period and collected information about diagnosis, length of hospital stay, previous hospital admissions, and medication use.
What they found
37% of women had their last menstrual period within 5 days of psychiatric admission. Most women were admitted for major depression, were single, Caucasian, and had an average age of 34 years. The average hospital stay was 4.37 days. 48.3% had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital before. Whether women were taking their medicines was not documented in 77.4% of records.
What it means for you
Severe psychiatric symptoms serious enough to require hospitalization happen more often around the time of menstruation. Better nursing care and better record-keeping, especially about whether women are taking prescribed medicines, might help prevent readmission to hospital. The study is limited to one hospital and women already in crisis.
177
women reviewed
37%
admitted within 5 days of menstruation
4.37
average days in hospital
About the study
- Original title
- The effect of menstruation on psychiatric hospitalization
- Authors
- Weston J, Speroni KG, Ellis T et al.
- Journal
- Journal of psychosocial nursing and mental health services
- Year
- 2012
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 177
- What was tested
- None - this was a chart review
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20120605-01
Topics
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