Survey study, 2014
Did premenstrual syndrome have evolutionary advantages?
This is a theory that PMS might have helped infertile partnerships end in the past, allowing women to find new partners. The theory fits some evidence but is not proven.
What they did
Theoretical paper examining an evolutionary hypothesis about PMS. The authors reviewed evidence for four predictions: that PMS has high heritability, gene variants can be identified, anger during PMS targets current partners, and PMS behaviors increase chances of finding new partners.
What they found
The authors note that PMS affects up to 80% of women and found support for their four predictions. PMS has high heritability, gene variants associated with PMS exist, anger during PMS is directed at current partners, and behaviors during PMS may increase partner-finding chances.
What it means for you
If this theory is correct, PMS might be a leftover from evolution that was useful in past societies but isn't helpful today. This could help reduce shame about PMS. The main limit is that this is a hypothesis based on reviewing evidence, not new research proving the theory.
80%
of women affected by PMS
About the study
- Original title
- Were there evolutionary advantages to premenstrual syndrome?
- Authors
- Gillings MR
- Journal
- Evolutionary applications
- Year
- 2014
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- None - theoretical analysis
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1111/eva.12190
Original abstract
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) affects up to 80% of women, often leading to significant personal, social and economic costs. When apparently maladaptive states are widespread, they sometimes confer a hidden advantage, or did so in our evolutionary past. We suggest that PMS had a selective advantage because it increased the chance that infertile pair bonds would dissolve, thus improving the reproductive outcomes of women in such partnerships. We confirm predictions arising from the hypothesis: PMS has high heritability; gene variants associated with PMS can be identified; animosity exhibited during PMS is preferentially directed at current partners; and behaviours exhibited during PMS may increase the chance of finding a new partner. Under this view, the prevalence of PMS might result from genes and behaviours that are adaptive in some societies, but are potentially less appropriate in modern cultures. Understanding this evolutionary mismatch might help depathologize PMS, and suggests solutions, including the choice to use cycle-stopping contraception.
Reproduced under CC-BY.
Topics
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