High levels of stress double the risk of painful periods

Nov 17 2004

High levels of stress double the risk of painful periods, finds research in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Primary dysmenorrhoea, otherwise known as painful periods without any organic cause, is one of the most common gynaecological problems among women of childbearing age.

Between four and nine out of 10 women are thought to suffer from painful periods, and in around 10 to 15% of cases, the pain is severe and disabling.

The US research team assessed the role of perceived stress during the preceding menstrual cycle on the rate of painful periods in the next cycle.

The study included an analysis of 1160 menstrual cycles in 388 healthy, newly married women, none of whom had had a child, but all of whom wanted to become pregnant.

All the women, who were aged between 20 and 34, kept daily diaries charting their stress levels according to whether they were low, medium, or high, for up to 12 months or until pregnancy occurred.

They were also asked to provide information on their menstrual cycles, use of contraception, and levels of exposure to tobacco smoke, both as active and passive smokers.

The women were all textile workers, working in a rapidly growing economy in Anqing City, Anhui Province, China. A high proportion of them worked shifts and were exposed to varying levels of noise and dust.

The rate of dysmenorrhoea, defined as two or more days of abdominal and/or low back pain during a menstrual period, was just over 44%.

Although the overall proportion of women reporting high stress was low, levels of medium and high stress were greater among the women with dysmenorrhoea. The rate of dysmenorrhoea among women reporting high stress was 44% compared with 22% for those reporting low stress. The findings held true even after taking account of factors likely to influence the results.

Perceived stress in the follicular phase (the first two weeks of the cycle) had a greater impact on dysmenorrhoea than did perceived stress in the second half of the cycle (the luteal phase).

Contact:
Dr Xiaobin Wang, The Mary Ann and J William Smith Child Health Research Program, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Tel: +1 773 327 9943
Email: [email protected]

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