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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.

Moderate study design 85 female medical students at Pelita Harapan University, average age 20, mostly with moderate stress and normal body weight

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
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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