--- title: Can a wearable fitness tracker spot premenstrual disorders by measuring heart rate? description: In women with premenstrual disorders, lower heart rate variability around their period was linked to worse symptoms, especially mood symptoms, while no such l url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/wearable-measured-heart-rate-variability-and-premenstrual-disorder-symptoms-2024/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Can a wearable fitness tracker spot premenstrual disorders by measuring heart rate? Cohort study, 2024 # Can a wearable fitness tracker spot premenstrual disorders by measuring heart rate? In women with premenstrual disorders, lower heart rate variability around their period was linked to worse symptoms, especially mood symptoms, while no such link appeared in women without these disorders. This is an early observational finding, not yet a proven test. Moderate study design 193 women tracked across their menstrual cycles, including 68 confirmed to have a premenstrual disorder. ## What they did Researchers followed 193 women (68 with confirmed premenstrual disorders) who wore a Huawei fitness tracker recording heart rate variability every 5 minutes overnight, across 1 to 2 menstrual cycles (293 cycles total). Each day, participants also rated their symptoms using a standard symptom scale (the Daily Record of Severity of Problems). ## What they found In everyone, heart rate variability measures (SDNN, rMSSD, HF) dropped before the period and rose afterward, with a bigger rise in women without premenstrual disorders. In women with premenstrual disorders, lower rMSSD after the period was tied to worse symptoms (beta = -0.036 per SD change, 95% CI -0.048 to -0.065), but there was no such link in women without these disorders (beta = -0.001, 95% CI -0.011 to 0.009; difference p<0.001). The link was stronger for mood symptoms than physical ones, and strongest before the period in women with the more severe form, PMDD. ## What it means for you Wearable heart-rate tracking might one day help flag premenstrual disorders more easily than today's time-consuming questionnaires, but this is early, observational research done in one cohort. It cannot yet diagnose an individual and needs confirmation in other groups. 193 Women studied 68 Had confirmed PMD 293 Menstrual cycles tracked ## About the study Original title Wearable-Measured Heart Rate Variability and Premenstrual Disorder Symptoms across Menstrual Cycle Authors Pan Q, Zhou J, Chen M et al. Journal medRxiv Year 2024 Study design Cohort study Participants 193 What was tested None tested; this was observational monitoring with a wearable heart-rate device. Read the paper [doi.org/10.1101/2024.10.27.24316196](https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.10.27.24316196) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Apps and digital interventions](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-digital-health/) 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 Cohort study, 2026 Does the menstrual cycle phase affect how much physical activity women do? Survey study, 2022 How common are premenstrual symptoms, and do they change with age? Case-control study, 2019 Do women with PMDD respond differently to stress? Survey study, 2026 Does your menstrual cycle stop you from starting a meditation practice? Review, 2024 Can wearable devices track mood changes in PMDD before they happen? Survey study, 2023 Does online exercise improve PMS symptoms? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗