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Association between Hormonal Contraceptive Use and Prevalence of Premenstrual Symptoms
Author(s) -
Jarosz Alicia Caroline,
Jamnik Joseph,
ElSohemy Ahmed
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.1247.5
Subject(s) - medicine , nausea , depression (economics) , mood , odds ratio , bloating , anxiety , confidence interval , population , psychiatry , economics , macroeconomics , environmental health
Background Hormonal contraceptive (HC) use may be associated with a reduction in some premenstrual symptoms, however, the evidence remains equivocal. Objective To determine the prevalence of premenstrual symptoms in a multiethnic population of women and to investigate the association between hormonal contraceptive use and premenstrual symptoms. Methods 1048 women aged 20–29 years participating in the Toronto Nutrigenomics and Health Study provided data on their premenstrual symptoms and HC use. Severity of symptoms was classified as none, mild, moderate, or severe. Frequencies of premenstrual symptoms were determined as a total and by ethnicity. Logistic regressions were used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) to analyze the associations between symptoms and use of HCs, adjusting for ethnicity. Results The prevalence of individual symptoms differed as follows: cramps (75%), bloating (74%), mood swings (72%), increased appetite (64%), acne (61%), fatigue (55%), sexual desire (50%), anxiety (35%), desire to be alone (33%), depression (28%), headache (26%), confusion (21%), clumsiness (15%), nausea (15%), and insomnia (11%). Prevalence of cramps, bloating, acne, sexual desire, headache, confusion, and nausea differed between ethnicities (P<0.05). For example, cramps were reported by 79% of Caucasians and 84% of South Asians, but only 67% of East Asians. The OR (95% CIs) for experiencing the following moderate/severe symptoms in women using HCs compared with those not using HCs were: cramps 0.48 (0.33–0.70), fatigue 0.64 (0.44–0.95), depression 0.35 (0.19–0.65), desire to be alone 0.32 (0.18–0.58), clumsiness 0.22 (0.06–0.74), confusion 0.21 (0.08–0.54), and anxiety 0.41 (0.24–0.70). Premenstrual symptoms of acne, mood swings, bloating, increased appetite, headache, insomnia, nausea, and sexual desire were not associated with HC use. Conclusion This study demonstrates that the prevalence of premenstrual symptoms varies widely between symptoms and ethnicities. Our findings also indicate that HC use is associated with a lower risk of experiencing many, but not all premenstrual symptoms. Support or Funding Information Research support: A.C.J. is a recipient of a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Graduate Scholarship