What are young undergraduate women's qualitative experiences of the menstrual cycle?

Association of a trait-like bias towards the perception of negative subjective life events with risk of developing premenstrual symptoms

OBJECTIVE

Premenstrual symptoms affect the majority of healthy women. Premenstrual symptomatology has earlier been linked to stress and a state-like alteration in the perception of life events in the late-luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. We hypothesised that there is also a trait-like negative bias in the perception of life events evident throughout the whole cycle which is associated with the likelihood to manifest more marked symptoms in the late-luteal phase of the cycle.

METHODS

88 healthy women completed the PRISM calendar for three consecutive cycles and the Objective and Subjective Event Checklist during the follicular phase of the first cycle. Association between PRISM score change from the follicular through the late-luteal phase and life event variables was investigated by Generalized Linear Model Analysis (GENMOD).

RESULTS

The PRISM score change showed a significant negative association with the ratio of positive subjective life events and a significant positive association with the ratio of negative subjective life events. There were no significant results in case of the objective life events.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicate that women manifesting a more marked increase of symptoms from the late follicular through the late-luteal phase of the menstrual cycle are more likely to notice negative subjective life events and less likely to notice positive subjective life events. This suggest a trait-like negative bias in the perception of life events present throughout the whole reproductive cycle which may play an important role in the emergence of premenstrual symptoms.

Patterns of mood changes throughout the reproductive cycle in healthy women without premenstrual dysphoric disorders

OBJECTIVE

The cyclic nature of female reproductive function is a natural part of life accompanied by changes in several physical and psychological phenomena. The aim of our study was to investigate the fluctuation of psychological symptoms throughout the female reproductive cycle in healthy, non-PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) women.

METHOD

63 psychiatrically healthy, non-PMDD women with normal regular menstrual cycles and not using hormonal contraceptive methods participated in the study. Participants completed the PRISM (Prospective Record of the Impact and Severity of Menstrual Symptoms) calendar every night for three cycles and in addition they completed several other psychometric measures (Symptom Distress Checklist-SCL-51, State Trait Anxiety Inventory-STAI, Zung Self-rating Depression Scale-ZSDS, Eating Attitude Test-EAT, Mind and Body Cathexis Scale) at three predefined days of the first cycle. Based on an at least 66% increase in physical symptoms from the late follicular to the late luteal phase on the PRISM, subjects were assigned to luteal phase physical symptoms (LPPS) and no luteal phase physical symptoms (nonLPPS) groups. The association of psychometric scores with timing within the cycle and with physical symptoms was analysed.

RESULTS

Significant changes in psychometric scores over time were observed for STAI state anxiety, SCL anxiety, SCL somatization, SCL depression, SCL obsessive-compulsive, SCL interpersonal sensitivity, SCL total, and ZSDS. A significant timexLPPS grouping interaction emerged in case of the SCL somatization subscale and the ZSDS. LPPS grouping was associated with only the interpersonal sensitivity subscale of the SCL51.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicate that there is a significant increase in psychological symptoms related to neuroticism and depression from the late follicular to the late luteal phase in a healthy, non-PMDD female population. Although our results may not have direct clinical significance, since the statistically significant increases in psychometric scores are still small, it is an important finding that there is a consistent pattern observable in the fluctuation of psychological symptoms accompanying the female reproductive cycle.

Comparison of quality of life scores among non-exercising adolescent females and adolescent dancers with oligomenorrhea and amenorrhea

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To evaluate whether oligomenorrhea and amenorrhea in adolescent females would have a negative effect on the standard quality of life (QOL) scores as compared to eumenorrheic adolescents, and whether such scoring would differ between those with exercise related oligo/amenorrhea or those with hypothalamic/ovarian causes.

DESIGN

Prospective cross-sectional observational survey.

METHODS

Young dancers were recruited from the Sports Clinic of a collegial School of Dance, and non-dancers were recruited from a hospital-based adolescent gynecology clinic. All subjects completed a structured self-answering questionnaire recording epidemiological data and a 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). All subjects had a full hormonal profile and pelvic ultrasound to study ovarian morphology.

RESULTS

Sixty-six dancers (19 with exercise-related oligo/amenorrhea and 47 eumenorrhoeic) and 90 non-dancers (45 eumenorrhoeic and 45 oligo/amenorrheic) were analyzed, all 16-20 years of age. There was no difference in the scoring between eumenorrheic dancers and non-dancers. Oligo/amenorrheic dancers did not score lower than eumenorrheic dancers. Compared with eumenorrheic subjects or to oligo/amenorrheic dancers, oligo/amenorrheic non-dancers had significantly lower QOL scores in the domains of physical functioning (PF) and general health (GH) and vitality (VT).

CONCLUSION

Compared with eumenorrheic adolescents, QOL scores were lower in non-exercising adolescents with oligo-amenorrhea, but not those with exercise related oligo/amenorrhea. The negative effects of oligomenorrhea and amenorrhea on quality of life were apparently attenuated if the menstrual dysfunction was related to physical training.

Development of a New Scale to Measure Beliefs about and Attitudes Toward Menstruation (BATM): Data from Mexico and the United States

This article introduces the Beliefs about and Attitudes toward Menstruation Questionnaire (BATM). It is a 5-point Likert scale that was normed on 1,090 Mexican people of different ages and educational levels. In a second study data from 274 undergraduate students from Mexico and the United States were compared. Four factors emerged in both samples: secrecy, annoyance, proscriptions and prescriptions, and pleasant. Mexican students scored significantly higher than U.S. students on the Proscriptions and Prescriptions subscale. Men scored significantly higher on this subscale than women. Implications of these findings are discussed, as is the possible utility of the questionnaire for future research.

Condições afetivo-emocionais em mulheres com síndrome pré-menstrual através do Z-Teste e do IDATE

A presente pesquisa visou constatar as condições afetivo-emocionais em mulheres com síndrome pré-menstrual (SPM), comparadas com outras mulheres sem sintomas pré-menstruais. A amostra foi constituída de 43 universitárias, na faixa etária de 18 e 35 anos, distribuídas em dois grupos: Grupo 1, constituído de 25 mulheres com SPM, e Grupo 2 (Controle), de 18 mulheres sem estas disfunções. Foram utilizados como instrumentos a técnica de Zulliger (Z-Teste forma coletiva) e o Inventário de Ansiedade-Traço-Estado - IDATE (Spielberger), e para tratamento estatístico na análise comparativa dos dados o t-Teste para amostras independentes. O nível de significância escolhido foi p < 0.05. Os resultados indicaram que as mulheres do grupo com síndrome pré-menstrual reagem emocionalmente de forma mais intensa e têm tendência à perda de controle emocional em índice maior que as mulheres do grupo sem sintomas pré-menstruais.

Self-reported crying during the menstrual cycle: sign of discomfort and emotional turmoil or erroneous beliefs?

Crying is generally associated with distress and discomfort, and is also part of the premenstrual syndrome in women. The present studies focussed on crying fluctuations during the menstrual cycle. First, a retrospective cross-cultural study of women from 33 different countries (n = 2447) was conducted. Crying proneness reportedly increased before menstruation, with remarkable cross-cultural differences. Women who were using oral contraceptives (OC) reported largely the same pattern of results as women who were not using OC. In a second study, 82 Dutch students kept a crying and mood diary for two consecutive menstrual cycles. During no phase of the menstrual cycle did actual crying episodes or crying proneness increase, although significant changes in mood were reported. Given the large cross-cultural differences on the one hand, and the remarkable correspondence between the self-reports of those using OC and those who did not use them on the other, it is concluded that the role of female sex hormone fluctuations in crying has to be questioned. Rather, it seems more likely that fluctuations in self-reported crying are based on implicit theories about the relationship between the menstrual cycle, mood and crying.