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.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Semmelweis University, Faculty of Medicine, Nagyvarad ter 4., 1089 Budapest, Hungary. kendermagos@yahoo.com
Xenia
X
Gonda
Konstantinos N
KN
Fountoulakis
Gabor
G
Csukly
Tamas
T
Telek
Dorottya
D
Pap
Zoltan
Z
Rihmer
Gyorgy
G
Bagdy
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D015982:Bias; D057189:Checklist; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008597:Menstrual Cycle / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D011293:Premenstrual Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D016387:Women's Health; D055815:Young Adult