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Do gastrointestinal symptoms vary with the menstrual cycle?
Author(s) -
Moore Jane,
Barlow David,
Jewell Derek,
Kennedy Stephen
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1998.tb10014.x
Subject(s) - irritable bowel syndrome , menstrual cycle , menstruation , asymptomatic , endometriosis , medicine , pelvic pain , surgery , hormone
This systematic review presents both the physiological and symptom‐based studies which have explored gastrointestinal variation across the menstrual cycle. Understanding this variation may be helpful in identifying the origin of pelvic pain, particularly as the symptoms associated with causes, such as endometriosis, also vary across the cycle. One‐third of otherwise asymptomatic women may experience gastrointestinal symptoms at the time of menstruation, and almost 50% of women with irritable bowel syndrome report a perimenstrual increase in symptoms.