Abstract
BackgroundHormonal contraceptive use may be associated with a reduction in some premenstrual symptoms, however, the evidence remains equivocal. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the associations between ethnicity and hormonal contraceptive use with premenstrual symptoms.MethodsOne thousand one hundred two women participating in the Toronto Nutrigenomics and Health Study provided data on their premenstrual symptoms and hormonal contraceptive use. Severity of symptoms was classified as none, mild, moderate, or severe. Prevalence of premenstrual symptoms was determined in the total population and among major ethnic groups. Logistic regressions were used to determine the association between ethnicity and prevalence of premenstrual symptoms. Logistic regressions were used to determine the associations between hormonal contraceptive use, and premenstrual symptoms, adjusting for ethnicity and other covariates.ResultsPrevalence of individual symptoms varied, and the most commonly reported were cramps (75%), bloating (75%), mood swings (73%), increased appetite (64%), and acne (62%). Prevalence of cramps differed between ethnic groups with East Asians reporting a lower prevalence than Caucasians and South Asians (p < 0.05). Use of hormonal contraceptives was associated with a lower RR (95% CI) of experiencing moderate/severe: cramps (0.82, 0.72-0.93), clumsiness (0.22, 0.07-0.73), confusion (0.22, 0.09-0.54) and desire to be alone (0.45, 0.28-0.73). Hormonal contraceptive use was not associated with the risk of premenstrual symptoms at mild severity. Hormonal contraceptive use was not associated with symptoms of anxiety, bloating, mood swings, increased appetite, acne, fatigue, sexual desire, depression, nausea, headache and insomnia.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that East Asians may be at a lower risk of experiencing premenstrual cramps and that hormonal contraceptive use is associated with a lower risk of experiencing many, but not all, premenstrual symptoms at moderate/severe severity.
Highlights
Hormonal contraceptive use may be associated with a reduction in some premenstrual symptoms, the evidence remains equivocal
Study sample Subjects included 1636 men and women aged 2029 years who participated in the Toronto Nutrigenomics and Health (TNH) study, which is a cross-sectional examination of young adults investigating genetics, lifestyle, and biomarkers of health [13, 14]
In this study, we investigated the prevalence of 15 common premenstrual symptoms and their associations with hormonal contraceptive use in a multiethnic population of young adults living in Canada
Summary
Hormonal contraceptive use may be associated with a reduction in some premenstrual symptoms, the evidence remains equivocal. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the associations between ethnicity and hormonal contraceptive use with premenstrual symptoms. Many symptoms have been described to date, and a few most commonly experienced somatic symptoms are bloating, headache, fatigue, and muscle cramps. Behavioural and psychological symptoms are commonly experienced, such as anxiety, mood swings, changes in appetite, and depression [2, 3]. It is estimated that more than 80% of women regularly experience premenstrual symptoms, prevalence varies between studies and populations [4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. It is generally accepted that the prevalence is influenced by factors such as body weight and age, the association with ethnicity has been inconsistent [11, 12].
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