Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-d8cs5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-22T09:00:22.319Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Pattern and Prevalence of Symptoms During the Menstrual Cycle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Olga van den Akker  and
Andrew Steptoe
Olga van den Akker*
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE
Andrew Steptoe
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE
*
∗Correspondence
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

One hundred volunteers completed a modified version of the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire daily for 35 days. The purpose of the study was disguised. None of the participants was taking oral contraceptives. Significantly more symptoms were reported in the premenstrual and menstrual phases and fewer during the follicular phase of the cycle, but the pattern of response varied considerably between subjects. Symptom reporting was higher, in all phases of the cycle, in women with high trait anxiety or psychiatric morbidity (indexed by the General Health Questionnaire) but these measures did not relate to fluctuations of symptoms around the menstrual cycle. The need for prospective longitudinal studies of menstrual cycle symptomatology is emphasised.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 147 , Issue 2 , August 1985 , pp. 164 - 169
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abplanalp, J. M. Donnelly, A. F. & Rose, R. M. (1979) Psychoneuroendocrinology of the menstrual cycle: 1. Enjoyment of daily activities and moods. Psychosomatic Medicine, 41, 587–603.Google Scholar
Beaumont, P. J. V., Richards, D. H. & Gelder, M. G. (1975) A study of minor psychiatric and physical symptoms during the menstrual cycle. British Journal of Psychiatry, 126, 432–434.Google Scholar
Clare, A. W. & Wiggins, R. D. (1979) The construction of a modified version of the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire for use in general practice populations In Emotion and Reproduction, Vol. 20A (eds. Carenza, L. & Zichella, L.). London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Clare, A. W. (1983) Psychiatric and social aspects of premenstrual complaint. Psychological Medicine, Monograph Supplement 4.Google Scholar
Gannon, L. (1981) Psychological and physiological factors in the development, maintenance, and treatment of menstrual disorders In Psychosomatic Disorders (eds. Haynes, S. N. & Gannon, L.). New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Goldberg, D. P. (1972) The Detection of Psychiatric Illness by Questionnaire. Maudsley Monograph no. 21. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Golub, S. (1976) The effect of premenstrual anxiety and depression on cognitive function. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 99–104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Halbreich, U., Endicott, J., Schacht, S. & Nee, J. (1982) The diversity of premenstrual changes as reflected in the PAF. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 65, 46–65.Google Scholar
Kessel, N. & Coppen, A. (1963) The prevalence of common menstrual symptoms. Lancet, ii, 61–64.Google Scholar
Koeske, R. D. (1980) Theoretical perspectives of menstrual cycle research In The Menstrual Cycle, Vol 1: A Synthesis of Interdisciplinary Research (eds. Dan, A. J., Graham, E. A. & Beecher, C. P.). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Lahmeyer, H. W., Miller, M. & DeLeon-Jones, F. (1982) Anxiety and mood fluctuation during the normal menstrual cycle. Psychosomatic Medicine, 44, 183–194.Google Scholar
Markum, R. A. (1976) Assessment of reliability of and the effect of neutral instructions on the symptom ratings on the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire. Psychosomatic Medicine, 38, 163–172.Google Scholar
Moos, R. H. (1977) Menstrual Distress Questionnaire Manual. Stanford, Connecticut: University Social Ecology Laboratory.Google Scholar
Parlee, M. B. (1980) Changes in moods and activation levels during the menstrual cycle in experimentally naive subjects In The Menstrual Cycle, Vol 1: A Synthesis of Interdisciplinary Research (eds. Dan, A. J., Graham, E. A. & Beecher, C. P.). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Parlee, M. B. (1982) The psychology of the menstrual cycle: Biological and psychological perspectives In Behavior and the Menstrual Cycle (ed Friedman, R. C.). New York: Marcel Dekker.Google Scholar
Rogers, M. L. & Harding, S. S. (1981) Retrospective and daily menstrual distress measures in men and women In The Menstrual Cycle, Vol. 2: Research and Implications for Women's Health (eds. Komnenich, P., McSweeny, M., Noack, J. A. & Elder, S. N.). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Ruble, D. N. (1977) Premenstrual symptoms: a reinterpretation. Science, 197, 291–292.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sampson, G. A. & Jenner, F. A. (1977) Studies of daily recordings from the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire. British Journal of Psychiatry, 130, 265–271.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sanders, D., Warner, P., Bäckström, T. & Bancroft, J. (1983) Mood, sexuality, hormones and the menstrual cycle: 1. Changes in mood and physical state: description of subjects and method. Psychosomatic Medicine, 45, 487–501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silbergeld, S., Brast, N. & Noble, E. P. (1971) The menstrual cycle: a double-blind study of symptoms, mood and behavior, and biochemical variables using Enovid and placebo. Psychosomatic Medicine, 33, 411–428.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Slade, P. (1984) Premenstrual emotional changes in normal women: fact or fiction? Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 28, 1–8.Google Scholar
Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. L. & Lushene, R. (1968) Self-Evaluation Questionnaire. Palo Alto, California: Consulting Psychologists Press.Google Scholar
Steiner, M. & Carroll, B. (1977) The psychobiology of premenstrual dysphoria: review of theories and treatments. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2, 321–335.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Strauss, B. & Appelt, H. (1983) Psychological concomitants of the menstrual cycle: a prospective longitudinal approach. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2, 215–220.Google Scholar
Taylor, J. W. (1979) The timing of menstruation-related symptoms assessed by a daily symptom rating scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandanavica, 60, 87–105.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.