Perimenstrual Symptoms: Relationships with Chronic Stress and Selected Lifestyle Variables

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Abstract
Of primary interest in the present study was the assessment of the association between several contextual factors, including chronic stress, exercise, alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine intake, and the self-report of perimenstrual symptoms. Two hundred and eleven women completed questionnaires designed to assess chronic stress, perimenstrual symptoms, and physical health. The results indicated that stress accounted for a significant amount of the variance in perimenstrual symptoms. Stress, however, accounted for a substantially greater amount of variance in scores on a general health measure than in self-reports of perimenstrual symptoms. Of those lifestyle variables assessed, only duration of current level of strenuous exercise was associated with perimenstrual symptoms to a meaningful extent.