Women most at risk for PMS include those who have early-onset menstruation, a family history of extreme premenstrual syndrome symptoms, dysmenorrhea (a painful menstruation), bipolar disorder, general anxiety, or depression, high stress levels, postpartum depression or psychotic episodes, high body mass, and high consumption of alcohol or caffeine.
THE STUDY THAT LINKED BP AND PMS
A recent study by the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Harvard School of Public Health has linked PMS with a late-in-life chance of high blood pressure.
That study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, evaluated 1,257 women who had the clinical symptoms of PMS from 1991 to 2005. These subjects were compared to a group of age-matched women who had minimal menstrual-related symptoms.
The clinical symptoms group experienced such PMS signs as dizziness, nausea, forgetfulness, insomnia, depression, hot flashes, cramping and acne. They were studied for hypertension diagnoses until 2011.
The evaluation of the women indicated that moderate to severe levels of PMS had a higher risk of developing hypertension. The group had a 40 percent greater risk of getting high blood pressure over a 20-year period compared to those who had few menstrual symptoms, according to the study.
The study’s authors accounted for differences such as body mass, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, exercise, postmenopausal hormone use, family history of high blood pressure and the use of oral contraceptives. Even accounting for those, there was a still a higher risk among the PMS-afflicted.