Survey study, 2023
Does eating more fiber help reduce PMS symptoms?
In this study of 85 medical students, there was no clear difference in PMS severity between those who ate more fiber and those who did not.
What they did
Cross-sectional study of 85 female medical students. Researchers collected information about their PMS symptoms, food intake (specifically fiber), and stress levels using questionnaires. They then looked for relationships between fiber intake and the severity of PMS symptoms.
What they found
There was no clear relationship between high fiber diet and the severity of PMS symptoms. The sample was mostly from the 2018 class (64.7%), average age 20 years (61.2%), with moderate stress (61.2%), and normal body weight (72.9%).
What it means for you
Eating more fiber did not seem to help reduce PMS symptoms in this group of medical students. The main limitations are this was only one university, only medical students who may be different from other women, and the cross-sectional design means we cannot prove cause and effect.
85
female medical students studied
64.7%
from 2018 class
72.9%
with normal body weight
About the study
- Original title
- The Relationship between High Fiber Diet and Severity of Premenstrual Syndrome Symptoms in Medical Students of Pelita Harapan University
- Authors
- Ignatius Kelvin, Dwi Savitri Rivami
- Journal
- Medicinus
- Year
- 2023
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- High fiber diet
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.19166/med.v9i3.6971
Original abstract
Introduction: 47.8% of women worldwide experience symptoms of premenstrual syndrome and 20% of women experience symptoms that are severe enough to interfere with daily activities. This occurs during the last 14 days of the menstrual cycle or luteal phase, and it is caused by hormonal fluctuations. Aim: This study is going to be conducted to determine the relationship between high fiber diet and the severity of premenstrual syndrome in adolescents. Method: This study used a comparative analytic categorical study with two unpaired categories with a cross-sectional study design. The research sample is female students at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Pelita Harapan who met the inclusion criteria of at least 74 samples by judgmental sampling. Data were collected using a questionnaire in the form of a Premenstrual Symptom Scale, Esitimated Food Record and Perceived Stress Scale with the the chi-square method, and data analysis using SPSS 24.0. Results: There were 85 samples that matched the inclusion and exclusion criteria of this study. The majority of the sample came from the 2018 class (64.7%), 20 years old (61.2%), experiencing moderate stress (61.2%), and have normal body mass index (72.9%). Researcher found a p value of 0.309 (p> 0.05), which means that there is no significant relationship between a high-fiber diet and the severity of premenstrual syndrome symptoms.
Reproduced under CC-BY-SA.
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