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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

Withdrawal and pre-menstrual symptomatology during the menstrual cycle in short-term smoking abstinence: effects of menstrual cycle on smoking abstinence.

This study employs a rigorous inpatient laboratory setting to test the hypothesis that withdrawal symptomatology in short-term smoking cessation in women is increased in the late luteal phase when pre-menstrual symptomatology is the highest. Twenty-one female smokers with clinical, anatomical, and hormonal verification of their menstrual cycle phase were randomized to either a smoking abstinence group (n = 16) or a continued smoking group (n = 5). Participants were admitted to the General Clinical Research Center during alternate phases of their cycle for two 7-day admissions with a 1-month interim period when they resumed smoking. Dependent measures, i.e., Minnesota Nicotine Withdrawal Scale scores, Questionnaire on Smoking Urges scores and Pre-menstrual Assessment Form scores were collected during 2 days of baseline and 5 days of smoking deprivation. Smoking behavior was documented by self-report, breath CO levels and saliva cotinine measurements. Withdrawal symptomatology was not affected by menstrual cycle phase during short-term cessation in spite of increased pre-menstrual changes seen in the late luteal phase. In addition, no phase effect on smoking behavior was detected and cigarette consumption remained stable across the cycle in both groups. These results suggest that for some smoking cessation studies, complex strategies to control for menstrual cycle effects may not be necessary. However, Smoking Urges scores did suggest increased desire to smoke and desire to relieve negative affect in the late luteal phase when women have higher pre-menstrual symptomatology. This suggests women may have greater difficulty quitting smoking in late luteal phase, and it seems prudent to recommend that women quit during the follicular phase of their cycle.

Adult↗

PubMed1986

World Health Organization multicenter study on menstrual and ovulatory patterns in adolescent girls. II. Longitudinal study of menstrual patterns in the early postmenarcheal period, duration of bleeding episodes and menstrual cycles. World Health Organization Task Force on Adolescent Reproductive Health.

During a two-year study, 670 girls (aged 11-15 years) submitted menstrual diaries that started at the onset of their first menstrual bleeding (Group I), and 802 girls (aged 11-15 years) who had already experienced menarche prior to the study (Group II) kept similar diaries. The two groups were recruited in three centers: Colombo (urban), Peradeniya (rural), both in Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong. The mean duration of bleeding episodes was 4.7 days (SD 1.8) in Group I and 4.9 days (SD 1.4) in Group II. The median length of the first cycle after menarche was 34 days, with 38.3% of the cycles being longer than 40 days. By the 5th cycle the median length was 31 days, similar to that of Group II. The establishment of cycle regularity was defined by three successive cycles within the range of 10 days with none of the three cycles shorter than 20 or longer than 40 days. This regularity was achieved by 19% of the Group I girls in the first three cycles and by 67% of these girls during the entire study period, compared to 89% in Group II.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Antifibrinolytics for heavy menstrual bleeding.

BACKGROUND: Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is an important cause of ill health in women. Medical therapy, with the avoidance of possibly unnecessary surgery, is an attractive treatment option. A wide variety of medications are available to reduce heavy menstrual bleeding but there is considerable variation in practice and uncertainty about the most appropriate therapy. Plasminogen activators are a group of enzymes that cause fibrinolysis (the dissolution of clots). An increase in the levels of plasminogen activators has been found in the endometrium of women with heavy menstrual bleeding compared to those with normal menstrual loss. Plasminogen activator inhibitors (antifibrinolytic agents) have therefore been promoted as a treatment for heavy menstrual bleeding. There has been a reluctance to prescribe tranexamic acid due to possible side effects of the drugs such as an increased risk of thrombogenic disease (deep venous thrombosis). Long term studies in Sweden, however, have shown that the rate of incidence of thrombosis in women treated with tranexamic acid is comparable with the spontaneous frequency of thrombosis in women. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness of antifibrinolytics in achieving a reduction in heavy menstrual bleeding. SEARCH STRATEGY: All studies which might describe randomised controlled trials of antifibrinolytic therapy for the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding were obtained by electronic searches of the MEDLINE 1966-1997, EMBASE 1980-1997 and the Cochrane Library. Companies producing antifibrinolytics and experts within the field were contacted for reference lists and information on unpublished trials. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials in women of reproductive age treated with antifibrinolytic agents versus placebo, no treatment or any other medical (non-surgical) therapy for regular heavy menstrual bleeding within either the primary, family planning or specialist clinic settings. Women with post menopausal bleeding, intermenstrual bleeding, iatrogenic or pathological causes of heavy menstrual bleeding were excluded. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Fifteen eligible trials were assessed by three reviewers and eight of these did not meet with the inclusion criteria. Of the seven remaining trials, four of these could be included within the meta-analysis. The remaining three trials had a crossover design and despite contacting the authors and appropriate companies, we were unable to extract the results in a format suitable to include these within the meta-analysis. However the results are included within the text of the review for discussion. MAIN RESULTS: Antifibrinolytic therapy compared to placebo showed a significant reduction in mean blood loss (WMD -94.0 [-151.4, -36.5]) and significant change in mean reduction of blood loss (WMD -110.2 [-146. 5, -73.8]). This objective improvement was not mirrored by a patient perceived improvement in monthly menstrual blood loss (RR 2.5 [0.9, 7.3]) in the one study which recorded this outcome ( approximately approximately Edlund 1995 approximately approximately ). Antifibrinolytic agents were compared to only three other medical (non-surgical) therapies: mefenamic acid, norethisterone administered in the luteal phase and ethamsylate. In all instances, there was a significant reduction in mean blood loss (WMD -73.0 [-123.4, -22.6], WMD -111.0 [-178.5, -43.5] and (WMD -100 [-143.9, -56.1] respectively) and a strong, although non-significant trend in favour of tranexamic acid in the participants' perception of an improvement in menstrual blood loss. There were no significant differences in the frequency of reported gastrointestinal side effects with tranexamic acid when compared to either NSAIDs (RR 0.9 [0.4, 2.1], oral luteal phase progestagens (RR 0.4 [0.1, 1.2]) or ethamsylate (RR 0.88 [0.3, 2.9]) when these treatments were used for heavy menstrual bleeding. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)

Antifibrinolytic Agents↗

PubMed2000

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for heavy menstrual bleeding.

BACKGROUND: Heavy menstrual bleeding is an important cause of ill health in premenopausal women. Although surgery is often used as a treatment, a range of medical therapies are also available. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors reduce prostaglandin levels which are elevated in women with excessive menstrual bleeding and also may have a beneficial effect on dysmenorrhoea. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this review was to investigate the effectiveness of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in achieving a reduction in menstrual blood loss in women of reproductive years with heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB). SEARCH STRATEGY: Electronic searches for relevant randomised controlled trials of the Cochrane Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group Register of Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychLIT, Current Contents, Biological Abstracts, Social Sciences Index and CINAHL were performed. Attempts were also made to identify trials from citation lists of review articles and drug companies were approached for unpublished data. In most cases, the first author of each included trial was contacted for additional information. SELECTION CRITERIA: The inclusion criteria were randomised comparisons of individual NSAIDs with either each other, placebo or other medical treatments in women of reproductive years with regular heavy periods measured either objectively or subjectively and with no pathological or iatrogenic (treatment induced) causes for their heavy menstrual blood loss. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Sixteen RCTs were identified that fulfilled the inclusion criteria for this review. The reviewers extracted the data independently and odds ratios for dichotomous outcomes and weighted mean differences for continuous outcomes were estimated from the data of nine trials. The remaining seven trials were of crossover design with data unsuitable for pooling and their individual results were described in text form. MAIN RESULTS: As a group, NSAIDs were more effective than placebo at reducing heavy menstrual bleeding but less effective than either tranexamic acid or danazol. Treatment with danazol caused a shorter duration of menstruation and more adverse events than NSAIDs but this did not appear to affect the acceptability of treatment. There was a non significant trend towards greater efficacy of NSAIDs compared to oral progestogen (luteal phase) and ethamsylate but no differences were demonstrated between NSAIDs and the progesterone releasing intra-uterine system (IUS) and the oral contraceptive pill, although these results were based on very small studies. There was no evidence of a difference between the individual NSAIDs (naproxen and mefenamic acid) in reducing HMB. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: NSAIDs reduce heavy menstrual bleeding when compared with placebo but are less effective than either tranexamic acid or danazol. However, adverse events are more severe with danazol therapy. In the limited number of small scale studies suitable for evaluation, no significant difference in efficacy was demonstrated between NSAIDs and other medical treatments such as oral progestogen given in the luteal phase, ethamsylate, oral contraceptive pill and the progesterone releasing IUS.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal↗

PubMed2005

Hormones, menstrual distress, and migraine across the phases of the menstrual cycle.

OBJECTIVE: The primary objectives of the present study were to (1) contrast reproductive hormone levels and ratings of menstrual distress of female migraineurs with those of a control group in each menstrual cycle phase, (2) examine correlations between hormone levels and migraine frequency, severity, and migraine-related disability, and (3) examine correlations between menstrual distress and migraine frequency, severity, and migraine-related disability. A secondary objective was to evaluate the validity of a migraine disability measure modified to reflect 7-day recall. BACKGROUND: Further controlled, prospective study is needed regarding the temporal relationships between reproductive hormones at each stage of the menstrual cycle and fluctuations in migraine activity across the cycle. METHODS: Twenty-three women (17 with migraine, 6 control participants) completed laboratory hormone assays and measures of menstrual distress and disability at each phase of one menstrual cycle, and monitored their headache activity daily during the same cycle. Results.-The migraine group evidenced lower premenstrual luteinizing hormone and more menstrual distress symptoms at each phase of the menstrual cycle. Hormones were associated with migraine activity and disability within cycle phases, and across phases in a time-lagged manner. Menstrual distress was associated with ovulatory phase migraine activity and with migraine-related disability across the menstrual cycle. A retrospective 7-day migraine disability measure appeared to be a consistently valid index. CONCLUSIONS: Both reproductive hormones and menstrually related distress appear to predict migraine activity and disability. These associations were evident not only for perimenstrual migraine, but also for migraine at each phase of the menstrual cycle.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Bacterial vaginosis in relation to menstrual cycle, menstrual protection method, and sexual intercourse in rural Gambian women.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the occurrence of bacterial vaginosis (BV) over the menstrual cycle and in relation to menstrual protection materials and sexual intercourse in a rural African setting. METHODS: Married, regularly menstruating female volunteers were asked to collect self administered swabs on alternate days through four menstrual cycles. BV was assessed using Nugent scores. Menstruation and reported sexual intercourse data were recorded contemporaneously. A crossover design comparing traditional and modern menstrual protection methods was incorporated. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine associations with BV. RESULTS: 30 women completed four menstrual cycles in the study. Completeness and validity of data from the self administered swabs was high. Greater frequencies of BV were found for all women in the second week of the menstrual cycle relative to days 14+, and markedly higher frequencies of BV were found in the first week in women with infrequent BV. BV was (non-significantly) more frequent when modern pads were used compared with traditional cloths. No association was found between BV and intercourse reported in the previous 4 days; or between the frequency of reported intercourse in one menstrual cycle and BV in either the same menstrual cycle or the next. CONCLUSIONS: Similar transient fluctuations over the menstrual cycle were found to those in industrialised countries. We found no evidence that sexual intercourse was associated with increased frequency of BV. Our data do not support hypotheses that menstrual hygiene materials might explain the high prevalences of BV found in sub-Saharan Africa compared to industrialised countries.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Menstrual symptometrics: a simple computer-aided method to quantify menstrual cycle disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To validate a menstrual symptometrics device that can quantify menstrual blood loss, dysmenorrhea, and the premenstrual syndrome against traditional methods of collecting data on symptoms. DESIGN: Validation study. SETTING: Academic research clinic for menstrual cycle disorders. PARTICIPANT(S): Women 18-50 years of age who presented with menstrual cycle disorders. Controls were recruited from lists of patients requesting sterilization and from hospital staff. INTERVENTION(S): Participants were asked to complete the menstrual symptometrics device and to record pain, blood loss, and premenstrual symptoms by using traditional methods (paper-based scales and the alkaline hematin method) for two cycles. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Agreement between traditional methods of quantifying menstrual cycle disorders and data obtained from the menstrual symptometrics device, and acceptability of the latter technique to patients. RESULT(S): A high level of agreement was observed between the traditional methods and the menstrual symptometrics device in quantifying and diagnosing menorrhagia, dysmenorrhea, and the premenstrual syndrome. Most patients preferred the menstrual symptometrics device as a data collection tool. CONCLUSION(S): The menstrual symptometrics device is a rapid and accurate method of quantifying blood loss, pain, and premenstrual symptoms. It has a high level of patient acceptability and can provide instant pictorial feedback on symptoms for patients and clinicians.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The impact of anxiety sensitivity, bodily expectations, and cultural beliefs on menstrual symptom reporting: a test of the menstrual reactivity hypothesis.

According to the menstrual reactivity hypothesis, certain women report more severe as well as a greater number of menstrual symptoms due to accurate reports of physical symptoms and expectations (e.g., cultural beliefs, sex roles, bodily sensations). To test this hypothesis and to further examine the role that anxiety sensitivity plays in menstrual symptom reporting, women varying in levels of anxiety sensitivity completed measures of sex role socialization, menstrual attitudes, bodily preoccupations, affect, and fear of illness. To assess psychophysiological reactivity and the applicability of response styles theory to individuals varying in anxiety sensitivity, skin conductance was measured as participants engaged in a rumination or distraction task. In addition, participants completed a modified Stroop task consisting of anxiety, menstrual, and neutral words followed by a surprise recognition task. Retrospectively and prospectively, women high in anxiety sensitivity consistently reported more severe menstrual symptoms. High anxiety sensitivity women also reported preoccupation with bodily sensations and more negative attitudes toward illness, but did not differ from low anxiety sensitivity women on measures of menstrual attitudes or sex role socialization. While engaging in a rumination task, high anxiety sensitivity women exhibited more frequent skin conductance responses and greater skin conductance response magnitude than low anxiety sensitivity women. In addition, after the rumination task, high anxiety sensitivity women recognized more anxiety-related words from the Stroop task. Menstrual cycle phase had less of an impact than anxiety sensitivity level on the current results. Implications of these results for the menstrual reactivity hypothesis and rumination are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Pre-operative endometrial thinning agents before hysteroscopic surgery for heavy menstrual bleeding.

BACKGROUND: Menorrhagia is one of the most common reasons for pre-menopausal women to be referred to a gynaecologist. Although medical therapy is generally the first approach, many will eventually require or request a hysterectomy. Hysterectomy is associated with a significant in-patient hospital stay and a period of convalescence that makes it an unattractive and unnecessarily invasive option for many women. Hysteroscopic endometrial ablation or resection offers a day-case surgical alternative to hysterectomy for these women. It is also a cheaper procedure than hysterectomy. Complete endometrial removal or destruction is one of the most important determinants of treatment success. Therefore surgery will be most effective if undertaken when endometrial thickness is less than 4mm, in the immediate post-menstrual phase, however there are often difficulties in reliably arranging surgery for this time. The other option is the use of hormonal agents which induce endometrial thinning or atrophy prior to surgery. The most commonly evaluated agents have been goserelin (a GnRH analogue) and danazol. Progestogens and other GnRH analogues have also been studied although less data are available. It has been suggested that the use of these agents, particularly GnRH analogues, will reduce operating time, improve the intra-uterine operating environment, and reduce distension medium absorption (this is the fluid used to distend the uterine cavity during surgery). OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effectiveness of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues, danazol, and progestogens, when used for endometrial thinning prior to hysteroscopic surgery for menorrhagia, in improving the intra-uterine operating environment and treatment outcome after surgery. SEARCH STRATEGY: The Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group search strategy (see Review Group details) was used to identify randomised trials that had compared the use of these drugs with either each other, or placebo, or no pre-operative treatment. SELECTION CRITERIA: Trials were included if they compared the effects of these agents with each other, or with placebo or no treatment on relevant intra-operative and post-operative treatment outcomes. Only randomised studies were included in this review. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Eight studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. Four studies compared goserelin (a GnRH analogue) with no treatment or placebo. Three studies compared goserelin with danazol. One study compared progestogens, danazol and triptorelin (a GnRH analogue) with no treatment. Data was extracted independently by two reviewers. A third reviewer checked data extraction for accuracy and wrote to authors where relevant data was missing or unclear. Intra-operative parameters included endometrial thickness, duration of surgery, ease of surgery, distension medium absorption and complication rate. Post-operative outcomes compared were the proportion of women with amenorrhoea, post-operative menstrual loss and dysmenorrhoea, and the need for further surgery. Data on side-effects were also recorded. MAIN RESULTS: When compared with no treatment GnRH analogues are associated with a shorter duration of surgery, greater ease of surgery and a higher rate of post-operative amenorrhoea. Post-operative dysmenorrhoea also appears to be reduced. The use of GnRH analogues has no effect on intra-operative complication rates and patient satisfaction with this surgery is high irrespective of the use of any pre-operative endometrial thinning agent. GnRH analogues produce more consistent endometrial atrophy than danazol. For other intra-operative and post-operative outcomes any differences are minimal. Both GnRH analogues and danazol produce side-effects in a significant proportion of women, though few studies have reported these in detail. Little randomised data is available to assess the effectiveness of progestogens as endometrial thinning agents and the effect of any thinning agent

Danazol↗

PubMed2001

The relationship between menstrual attitudes and menstrual symptoms among Taiwanese women.

AIM OF THE STUDY: This study explored characteristics of the menstrual cycle including duration, prevalence and severity of symptoms and examined the relationship of these characteristics with attitudes toward menstruation. BACKGROUND: Conceptualization of menstrual phenomena and attitudes toward menstruation may vary among cultures. While data about menstrual health among American women are widely available, there are little data concerning menstrual health in Taiwanese women. DESIGN/METHODS: A total of 30 healthy women with a mean age of 24.4 years participated in the study and made daily records of symptoms over a 90-day period with the Woods Daily Health Diary (WDHD). They then retrospectively completed the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MMDQ) and the Menstrual Attitudes Questionnaire (MAQ). RESULTS: The mean age of menarche of these women was 13 years, their mean cycle duration was 5.8 days and the cycle length was 31.1 days. The mean scores of five subscales for MAQ ranged from 2.19 to 3.28. Forty-six percent of the surveyed Taiwanese women agreed that the onset of menstruation can be predicted and anticipated, and 78% of these women agreed that menstruation was a natural event. CONCLUSIONS: Menstrual attitudes in Taiwanese women are multidimensional, and that significant cross-cultural differences are present. Attitudes toward menstruation in Taiwanese women are related to their physical, cognitive, behavioural and psychological changes in the premenstrual and menstrual phases.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Estimating menstrual blood loss in women with normal and excessive menstrual fluid volume.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between total fluid volume at menstruation and the volume of blood loss, and to assess the feasibility of using total fluid volume to estimate menstrual blood loss. METHODS: Fifty-three women were studied over two menstrual periods each. Hemoglobin in menstrual pads and tampons was measured using the alkaline hematin technique; total menstrual fluid volume was simultaneously measured using a weighing technique and meticulous care to avoid evaporation. RESULTS: Despite period-to-period change in measured total menstrual fluid and menstrual blood loss volumes, there was a significant correlation between total fluid volume and blood loss (r =.93, P <.001). Blood comprised 48% of total menstrual flow for women with moderately heavy blood loss (>60 mL) and 50% for women with excessive blood loss (>100 mL). Regression estimation of blood loss from total fluid volume was reasonably accurate. For clinical purposes, estimated blood volumes correctly classified 98% of periods in terms of actual blood loss as normal (<60 mL blood), moderately heavy (60-100 mL), or excessive (>100 mL). CONCLUSION: If total fluid volume is measured carefully, the estimate of actual blood loss is sufficiently accurate for clinical purposes. This simple technique has considerable clinical potential, and inexpensive commercial packs for this purpose could easily be developed.

Blood Volume↗

PubMed2002

Menstrual irregularity and menstrual symptoms.

The authors examined whether women with irregular cycles showed more symptoms of menstrual distress than women with regular cycles. One hundred fourteen college women prospectively recorded the dates of 6 to 8 menstrual cycles and replied to a menstrual-symptoms questionnaire. The researchers cross-classified regularity and irregularity, by the women's self-definitions (questionnaire data) and by objective criteria (based on the respondents' prospective recordings of their menstrual data). The results showed that women with irregular cycles experienced twice as many menstrual symptoms as women with regular cycles. The use of a more valid criterion for menstrual irregularity revealed that women with irregular cycles suffered more menstrual distress than did women with regular cycles.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Menstrual disorders in women. Social economic consequences of examining women with menstrual disorders for cancer of the body of the uterus.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the health economic consequences of menstrual disorders in Denmark. DESIGN: Analysis of the total costs of menstrual disorders in women, and a cost effectiveness analysis of menstrual disorders in women. SETTING: The analysis is based on retrospective 1991 data from the Danish National Patient Register, and from 1991 national production figures from the Danish National Health Insurance responsible for the primary health care sector. Furthermore, a survey of the incidence of cancer in Denmark in 1988 has been used. SUBJECTS: In the cost analysis all women who experienced menstrual disorders in 1991 are included, and in the cost effectiveness analysis all women with menstrual disorders who were examined by dilatation and curettage in 1991 were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: In the cost analysis the outcome measure is the total cost of treating and examining women with menstrual disorders in 1991. In the cost effectiveness analysis the outcome measure is the cost of diagnosing one new case of cancer of the body of the uterus in 1991. RESULTS: Menstrual disorders caused a resource use in the health care sector of 150 mill. DKK in 1991, i.e. approximately 0.4% of the total Danish health expenditure, of which at least 33 mill. DKK were spent on the ca. 25,000 dilatations and curettages which were performed in hospitals and the primary sector. Approximately 600 new cases of cancer of the body of the uterus were diagnosed in Denmark in 1991. The cost of finding one woman with cancer of the body of the uterus was on average 54,500 DKK. The cost variation per new case of cancer of the body of the uterus among different age groups was relatively large. The cost was 1.3 mill DKK per new case if the women were less than 40 years because of a low risk of having cancer of the body of the uterus in this age group. The cost per case was 21,500 DKK in women over 50 years. CONCLUSION: This article raised the question whether too many women under 40 years are examined today by dilatation and curettage when the cost effectiveness of examining the woman is considered.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Menstrual variability and the measurement of menstrual synchrony.

While the timing of menstrual cycles must be modifiable in order for the phenomenon of menstrual synchrony to occur, cycle variability and the occurrence of irregularly long or short cycles complicate the measurement of the process of synchronization over time and of determining whether synchrony exists for women who have lived together for a long period of time. The paper examines how each of five different ways of measuring menstrual synchrony (utilized in the literature) deals with menstrual variability and irregular cycles. On the basis of this analysis, the mathematical concept of "the limit of a sequence,' and analysis of data according to these five different approaches, we recommend the approach in which women record their onset dates after they have been together for a prolonged period of time. The observed onset differences between the women are then compared to expected onset differences, based on the assumption of random onset occurrence. A significant influence of irregular cycle lengths on synchrony was not found in this data set and in the other studies which examined this issue. Research to date has focused on a relatively narrow aspect of menstrual regularity and synchrony and has failed to emphasize the coupled pattern of events over time as well as to analyze menstrual synchrony as a cyclic system.

Bias↗

PubMed2002

Methods for obtaining menstrual-cycle data in menstrual-synchrony studies: commentary on Schank (2001).

J. C. Schank (2001) claimed to identify 2 categories of error-measurement error and recall biases-in the methodology used in studies of menstrual synchrony. This commentary focuses on the 2nd of these, recall biases, and other errors that he argued may result from "allowing participants to fill out menstrual-cycle-onset calendars" (p. 3). J. C. Schank's detailed discussion of various types of recall biases is inappropriate and misleading given that the majority of menstrual-synchrony studies have used prospective menstrual calendars. The use of menstrual calendars is a well-accepted method in a number of research areas and demands little of participants. J. C. Schank questioned the validity of menstrual calendar data on the basis of assumptions about recall bias for which he had no evidence.

Female↗

PubMed2000

Influence of the menstrual cycle phase and menstrual symptoms on maximal anaerobic performance.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to analyze the effect of the menstrual cycle phase on maximal anaerobic performance during short-term anaerobic tests. METHODS: Seven eumenorrheic women (NOC) and 10 women using monophasic oral contraceptives (OC) performed three anaerobic tests (force-velocity, multi-jump, and squatting jump tests) during menstruation (M: between days 1 and 4), the midfollicular phase (F: between days 7 and 9), and the midluteal phase (L: between days 19 and 21) of the ovarian cycle. Follicular and luteal phases were confirmed by serum progesterone levels. The order of testing sessions was randomly assigned and a 15-min standardized warm-up preceded each testing session. Rectal temperatures were taken before (Trec(b)) and after (Trec(a)) warm-up. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed among M, F, and L in Trec(b), Trec(a) maximal cycling power (Pmax(c)), maximal jumping power (Pmax(j)), or maximal height of jump (h(j)) in either NOC or OC. Ten of the women suffered premenstrual or menstrual symptoms (MS); the other seven did not report any premenstrual or menstrual discomfort (NMS). Presence or absence of symptoms was not correlated with oral contraceptive use. No significant differences were observed among the three stages of the menstrual cycle in Pmax(c), Pmax(j), or h(j) in NMS. In MS, only Pmax(j) decreased by 8% in M compared with that in F (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Although there were no significant differences in maximal anaerobic performance during different menstrual cycle phases, results of this study suggest that the presence or absence of premenstrual or menstrual syndrome symptoms may have an effect, possibly through an action on the stretch-shortening cycle of tendons and ligaments.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

Mood across the menstrual cycle and number of menstrual symptoms reported: a cross-sectional study.

This study assessed mood among 110 women at three phases of the menstrual cycle and its relationship with the number of reported menstrual symptoms. Women who reported fewer menstrually-related symptoms tended to have generally higher mood scores, but specific depression of mood during menses was found among the subgroup of women who reported fewer menstrual symptoms. Contraceptive pill usage was not related to mood variation across the menstrual cycle. The findings raise questions about the validity of self-reports of menstrually-related symptoms.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Randomised comparative trial of the levonorgestrel intrauterine system and mefenamic acid for the treatment of idiopathic menorrhagia: a multiple analysis using total menstrual fluid loss, menstrual blood loss and pictorial blood loss assessment charts.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy and tolerability of the levonorgestrel intrauterine system (LNG IUS) with mefenamic acid in the management of objective idiopathic menorrhagia. DESIGN: Phase III, Single centre, open, randomised, comparative, parallel group study. SETTING: District General Hospital in the United Kingdom. POPULATION: Fifty-one women with objective menorrhagia. METHODS: Twenty-five women randomised to receive the LNG IUS and 26 to oral mefenamic acid for six cycles. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Change from baseline in menstrual blood loss (MBL), total menstrual fluid loss (TMFL) and pictorial blood loss assessment chart (PBAC) score at the third and sixth cycle of treatment. RESULTS: After six cycles the median menstrual blood loss was 5 mL in the LNG IUS group and 100 mL in the mefenamic acid group (P < 0.001). Median TMFL was 27 mL in the LNG IUS group and 157 mL in the mefenamic acid group (P < 0.001). Median PBAC score was 25 in the LNG IUS group and 159 in the mefenamic acid group. Changes in menstrual blood loss correlated strongly to changes in TMFL (r= 0.88) but PBAC correlated less well to blood loss and total fluid loss (r= 0.53 and r= 0.58). CONCLUSIONS: Both the LNG IUS and mefenamic acid significantly decreased menstrual blood loss, TMFL and PBAC scores. The LNG IUS produced greater reductions in all parameters than mefenamic acid. Comparison of the different measurements suggests that TMFL assessment may be an easier and a more relevant measure of symptom severity than menstrual blood loss.

Adolescent↗