---
title: How does the menstrual cycle affect anxiety and PTSD symptoms?
description: The menstrual cycle and its hormones affect anxiety and PTSD symptoms. The clearest finding is premenstrual worsening of anxiety, and estradiol may help with
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-impact-of-the-menstrual-cycle-and-underlying-hormones-in-anxiety-and-ptsd-2021/
---

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- How does the menstrual cycle affect anxiety and PTSD symptoms?

Review, 2021

# How does the menstrual cycle affect anxiety and PTSD symptoms?

The menstrual cycle and its hormones affect anxiety and PTSD symptoms. The clearest finding is premenstrual worsening of anxiety, and estradiol may help with trauma memory processing.

 Early or limited evidence

Review of research on women with anxiety and PTSD

## What they did

This review examined recent research on how menstrual cycle phases affect anxiety and PTSD, including the hormones involved and the biological processes behind these effects.

## What they found

The menstrual cycle and its hormones affect symptom expression in women with anxiety and PTSD. The most consistent findings are premenstrual worsening of anxiety symptoms and a protective effect of estradiol on recall of extinction learning among healthy women. Many other findings conflict with each other.

## What it means for you

The menstrual cycle affects anxiety and PTSD symptoms. We need better studies to understand exactly how. Main limitation: existing studies measure menstrual cycle phase poorly, making results hard to compare.

## About the study

Original title The Impact of the Menstrual Cycle and Underlying Hormones in Anxiety and PTSD: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go From Here? Authors Nillni YI, Rasmusson AM, Paul EL et al. Journal Current psychiatry reports Year 2021 Study design Review What was tested None Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1007/s11920-020-01221-9](https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-020-01221-9)

## Topics

[Premenstrual exacerbation (PME)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pme/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Anxiety disorders and OCD](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-anxiety-disorders/)[PTSD and trauma](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-ptsd-trauma/)

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## Related studies

Study, 2026

Do anxiety and depression get worse before your period if you already have a mental health condition?

Lab study, 2020

Does anxiety sensitivity change during different parts of the menstrual cycle?

Systematic review, 2022

Do mental health disorders get worse during the menstrual cycle?

Systematic review, 2022

Do anxiety disorders, PTSD and OCD get worse at certain points in the menstrual cycle?

Case-control study, 2015

Does the menstrual cycle affect psychological symptoms differently in women with PTSD?

Study, 2012

Does anxiety sensitivity affect panic symptoms differently at different menstrual cycle phases?

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