---
title: How do menstrual symptoms affect mood in teenage girls? | Niyora
description: Physical and psychological symptoms are strongly linked in adolescent girls. The link partly works because physical symptoms make girls avoid daily activities
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-impact-of-menstrual-cycle-related-physical-symptoms-on-daily-activities-and-2016/
---

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- How do menstrual symptoms affect mood in teenage girls?

Cohort study, 2016

# How do menstrual symptoms affect mood in teenage girls?

Physical and psychological symptoms are strongly linked in adolescent girls. The link partly works because physical symptoms make girls avoid daily activities, which worsens depressed mood and thinking problems.

 Early or limited evidence

208 Italian adolescent girls, average age 16.68 years

## What they did

208 Italian girls (average age 16.68 years) completed an online 95-item questionnaire about their menstrual symptoms and how these symptoms affected their daily activities.

## What they found

Physical and psychological symptoms were strongly associated. Withdrawing from daily activities partly explained the link between physical symptoms and depressed mood and cognitive symptoms, but this pathway did not explain links to other mood symptoms.

## What it means for you

In some teenage girls, avoiding activities due to menstrual symptoms may worsen mood. However, the study was cross-sectional (a one-time snapshot, not tracking changes over time), so we cannot say whether activity avoidance causes worse mood or whether they just occur together.

208

girls surveyed

16.68

average age in years

95

items in questionnaire

## About the study

Original title The impact of menstrual cycle-related physical symptoms on daily activities and psychological wellness among adolescent girls Authors van Iersel KC, Kiesner J, Pastore M et al. Journal Journal of adolescence Year 2016 Study design Cohort study Participants 208 What was tested None - observational survey Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.03.007](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.03.007)

## Topics

[Adolescents and young people](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-adolescents/)

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