--- title: Do women using hormonal birth control have fewer menstrual symptoms? description: Most women have menstrual symptoms regardless of birth control use. Women not using hormonal contraception report slightly more symptoms on average (5.9 versu url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-inconvenience-due-to-women-s-monthly-bleeding-isy-survey-a-study-of-2017/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do women using hormonal birth control have fewer menstrual symptoms? Survey study, 2017 # Do women using hormonal birth control have fewer menstrual symptoms? Most women have menstrual symptoms regardless of birth control use. Women not using hormonal contraception report slightly more symptoms on average (5.9 versus 5.3 symptoms). Moderate study design 5728 women aged 18-45 in 12 European countries ## What they did 5728 women aged 18-45 from 12 European countries completed an online survey in 2015. 2739 used hormonal birth control and 2989 did not. They reported symptoms around their periods over recent cycles. ## What they found 93% of hormonal birth control users and 95% of non-users reported at least one symptom. Non-users reported an average of 5.9 symptoms compared to 5.3 for users. More than half in both groups reported pelvic pain, bloating, irritability, and mood swings. Non-users reported somewhat higher symptom severity overall, except for headaches. In the past four cycles, 60-75% of women did not need treatment for most symptoms. ## What it means for you Menstrual symptoms are very common in both groups. Hormonal birth control reduces the number and severity of symptoms but does not eliminate them. Most women manage symptoms without seeking treatment. 5728 women surveyed from 12 countries 93% to 95% reported at least one symptom 5.3 vs 5.9 average symptoms (hormonal vs non-hormonal) ## About the study Original title The inconvenience due to women's monthly bleeding (ISY) survey: a study of premenstrual symptoms among 5728 women in Europe Authors Lete I, Häusler G, Pintiaux A et al. Journal The European journal of contraception & reproductive health care : the official journal of the European Society of Contraception Year 2017 Study design Survey study Participants 2,989 What was tested None Read the paper [doi.org/10.1080/13625187.2017.1400001](https://doi.org/10.1080/13625187.2017.1400001) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Irritability and anger](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-irritability-anger/)[Mood swings and emotion regulation](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-emotional-regulation/)[Bloating, breast tenderness and physical symptoms](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-physical-symptoms/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Survey study, 1982 How common are premenstrual symptoms in American women, and what factors affect them? Survey study, 1994 How many different ways do researchers measure PMS in clinical trials? Survey study, 2016 Do hormonal contraceptives reduce PMS symptoms? Survey study, 2025 How common is PMS among female medical students, and how severe are the symptoms? Survey study, 2017 How many young women have premenstrual syndrome? Cohort study, 2006 How should severe period pain in teenagers be treated? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗