Many women experience premenstrual
symptoms such as depression, anger and irritability. The results of a new study designed to compare the severity and
timing of perimenstrual symptoms among women who do or do not use cyclic
hormonal contraception are reported in Journal of Women's Health.
The article entitled "The Influence of Cyclic Hormonal Contraception on Expression of Premenstrual Syndrome" is coauthored by
Journal of Women's Health
Editor-in-Chief Susan Kornstein, Executive Director of the Virginia
Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA,
Kimberly Yonkers and Margaret Altemus, Yale University School of
Medicine, and Brianna Cameron and Ralitza Gueorguieva, Yale
University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT.
‘Better understanding the psychological and physical effects of hormonal contraception could help guide clinicians in the diagnosis and treatment of premenstrual syndrome (PMS).’
The researchers report changes in menstrual cycle symptom scores for
variables such as depression, anger, irritability, and physical
symptoms between cyclic hormonal contraception users and nonusers. They
found that cyclic hormonal contraception may attenuate premenstrual
symptoms, but that the timing of symptoms is similar regardless of
whether the subjects used hormonal contraception.
Better understanding
the psychological and physical effects of hormonal contraception could
help guide clinicians in the diagnosis and treatment of premenstrual
syndrome (PMS).
"Because women taking hormonal contraceptives are routinely excluded
from studies of PMS and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), this
study provides a valuable examination of the influence of exogenous
hormones on premenstrual symptom expression and response to treatment,"
says Robert Downs, Deputy Editor of
Journal of Women's Health, Richmond, VA.
Source: Eurekalert
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