Arousal and stress response across the menstrual cycle in women with three perimenstrual symptom patterns

Woods, Nancy Fúgate; Lentz, Martha J.; Mitchell, Ellen Siobhan; Kogan, Helen

doi:10.1002/nur.4770170205

Cited by 27 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Symptoms need to be rated daily over at least two months to confirm the diagnosis (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Some studies show higher heart rate, greater skin conductance, or greater norepinephrine levels throughout the menstrual cycle (Palmero and Choliz, 1991; Asso and Magos, 1992; Girdler et al, 1998) or just in the late-luteal phase in women with severe PMS (Woods et al, 1994) and others show no differences in these measures compared to controls (Van den Akker and Steptoe, 1987, 1989; Girdler et al, 1993). Studies of HRV in PMS have also produced inconsistent results.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomic regulation across phases of the menstrual cycle and sleep stages in women with premenstrual syndrome and healthy controls

Zambotti

Nicholas

Colrain

et al. 2013

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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Summary To investigate the influence of menstrual cycle phase and the presence of severe premenstrual symptoms on cardiac autonomic control during sleep, we performed heart rate variability (HRV) analysis during stable non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and REM sleep in 12 women with severe premenstrual syndrome and 14 controls in the mid-follicular, mid-luteal, and late-luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. Heart rate was higher, along with lower high frequency (HF) power, reflecting reduced vagal activity, and a higher ratio of low frequency (LF) to high frequency power, reflecting a shift to sympathetic dominance, in REM sleep compared with NREM sleep in both groups of women. Both groups of women had higher heart rate during NREM and REM sleep in the luteal phase recordings compared with the mid-follicular phase. HF power in REM sleep was lowest in the mid-luteal phase, when progesterone was highest, in both groups of women. The mid-luteal phase reduction in HF power was also evident in NREM sleep in control women but not in women with PMS, suggesting some impact of premenstrual syndrome on autonomic responses to the hormone environment of the mid-luteal phase. In addition, mid-luteal phase progesterone levels correlated with HF power and LF/HF ratio in control women in NREM sleep and with the LF/HF ratio during REM sleep in both groups of women. Our findings suggest the involvement of female reproductive steroids in cardiac autonomic control during sleep in women with and without premenstrual syndrome.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomic regulation across phases of the menstrual cycle and sleep stages in women with premenstrual syndrome and healthy controls

Zambotti

Nicholas

Colrain

et al. 2013

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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“…One study (4) reported that women with PMS have a higher resting heart rate than controls in the late-luteal phase, consistent with altered autonomic nervous system function, but others have failed to replicate this effect (5,6). Measures of skin conductance, used as an index of sympathetic tone, have also produced conflicting results, with some studies reporting greater skin conductance in women with PMS (7), others reporting no difference between women with PMS and controls (8), and yet others reporting higher levels of skin conductance pre-menses than post-menses in women with PMS, an effect opposite to that seen in controls (9).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduced parasympathetic activity during sleep in the symptomatic phase of severe premenstrual syndrome

Baker

Colrain

Trinder

2008

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

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Objective-Severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common, distressing disorder in women that manifests during the premenstrual (late-luteal) phase of the ovulatory menstrual cycle. There is some evidence that altered autonomic function may be an important component of PMS but few studies have used heart rate variability (HRV), as a sensitive marker of autonomic activity, in severe PMS and findings are conflicting.Methods-We investigated HRV during sleep, a state relatively free of external disruptions, in nine women with severe PMS and twelve controls.Results-The normal-to-normal (NN) RR-interval was shorter during the sleep period in women with PMS than in controls in both the follicular and late-luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. The standard deviation of all NN intervals (SDNN), a measure of total variability in the inter-beat interval, was lower during the sleep period in the late-luteal phase than in the follicular phase in women with PMS. The square root of the mean of the sum of the squares of differences between adjacent NN intervals (rMSSD), a measure reflecting high frequency activity, showed a similar pattern. High frequency power, a marker of parasympathetic activity, was lower during non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) and REM sleep in the late-luteal phase than in the follicular phase in women with severe PMS. Controls had a shorter NN-interval, but similar HRV measures, in the late-luteal phase compared with the follicular phase.Conclusion-These results suggest that women with severe PMS have decreased parasympathetic activity during sleep in association with their premenstrual symptoms compared to when they are symptom-free.

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“…Conversely, Epperson et al (2007) found an effect of cycle phase with greater acoustic startle responses during luteal phase testing (defined as days –1 to –7 menses onset) compared to follicular phase testing in women with PMDD. Similarly, Woods et al (1994) found a significant effect of cycle phase and PMS symptom severity with women meeting criteria for PMS demonstrating greater electromyogram and skin conductance responses to laboratory stressors during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle (defined as days –1 to –7 menses onset) compared to less symptomatic women. For additional discussion of these and other incongruities see Moline et al (2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Briefly, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ guidelines for diagnosis of PMS (ACOG, 2000) and the American Psychiatric Association’s guidelines for diagnosis of PMDD (APA, 2000) require symptom assessment during the 5 to 7 days prior to menses to capture symptom peaks which may occur at that time (Stoddard et al, 2007) and remit with menses onset or the start of the follicular phase (APA, 2000). Research from our labs have shown that the premenses week (days 1 to 7 prior to menses onset) was a robust estimate of the time frame during which ovarian steroids influenced stress reactivity (Woods et al, 1994) and days 7–10 post-ovulation yielded psychophysiological stress reactivity patterns distinct from the follicular phase (Lustyk et al, 2010). As the 7–10 day post-ovulation luteal window also captures the symptom peak period (Stoddard et al, 2007) that same luteal window was used in the present study.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hemodynamic and psychological responses to laboratory stressors in women: Assessing the roles of menstrual cycle phase, premenstrual symptomatology, and sleep characteristics

Lustyk¹,

Douglas²,

Shilling³

et al. 2012

International Journal of Psychophysiology

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This study assessed whether premenstrual symptomatology and/or sleep characteristics explain increased luteal phase psychophysiological reactivity to laboratory stressors. We hypothesized that: (1) premenstrual symptoms and sleep characteristics would explain greater luteal versus follicular phase psychophysiological reactivity, (2) symptoms and sleep characteristics would differentially predict psychophysiological reactivity within each cycle phase, and (3) symptoms and sleep characteristics would interact to affect luteal but not follicular reactivity. Freely cycling women (N=87) completed two laboratory sessions, one follicular (cycle days 5–9) and one luteal (days 7–10 post-ovulation). We employed two stressors: one physical (cold pressor task) and the other cognitive in nature (Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task). During testing, electrocardiography monitored heart rate (HR) while a timed and auto-inflatable sphygmomanometer assessed blood pressure (BP). Participants also completed a one-time self-report measure of sleep characteristics and premenstrual symptomatology as well as a measure of state anxiety pre-post stressor. Results revealed greater luteal HR and systolic BP reactivity compared to follicular reactivity (p<0.001 for both analyses), however neither premenstrual symptoms nor sleep characteristics explained this luteal increase. Within cycle analyses revealed that symptoms and sleep characteristics interacted to affect luteal phase state anxiety reactivity (R2=.32, p=.002) with negative affect being associated with more reactivity when sleep hours were low (β=.333, p=.04). Overall, significant relationships existed during the luteal phase only. Findings are discussed in terms of clinical utility and methodological challenges related to performing laboratory stress testing in women.

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Arousal and stress response across the menstrual cycle in women with three perimenstrual symptom patterns

Cited by 27 publications

References 28 publications

Autonomic regulation across phases of the menstrual cycle and sleep stages in women with premenstrual syndrome and healthy controls

Autonomic regulation across phases of the menstrual cycle and sleep stages in women with premenstrual syndrome and healthy controls

Reduced parasympathetic activity during sleep in the symptomatic phase of severe premenstrual syndrome

Hemodynamic and psychological responses to laboratory stressors in women: Assessing the roles of menstrual cycle phase, premenstrual symptomatology, and sleep characteristics

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