Autonomic nervous system activity in the late luteal phase of eumenorrheic women with premenstrual symptomatology

Abstract

The majority of women of reproductive age experience a regular recurrence of various symptoms in the premenstrual phase. The etiopathogenesis of premenstrual symptomatology, however, remains inconclusive. The present study was proposed to evaluate whether the activity of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which largely contributes to the relative stability of a human's internal environment, is altered during the menstrual cycle of women with premenstrual symptomatology. Thirty eumenorrheic young women participated in this study. All subjects were investigated during the follicular and late luteal phases. The ANS activity was assessed by means of heart rate variability power spectral analysis during supine rest. No intramenstrual cycle differences in the ANS activity were found in women experiencing no or small increases in premenstrual symptoms. In contrast, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity significantly increased and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity apparently decreased in the late luteal phase in subjects whose premenstrual symptomatology was not unbearable, but substantially increased (> 20%) compared to the symptom-free follicular phase. The women with greater degrees of premenstrual distress possessed higher SNS activity and lower PNS activity in the late luteal phase than the women with less symptomatology. The ANS activity in the follicular phase did not differ among the subjects regardless of their premenstrual symptoms. Although causes and consequences continue to elude, the present study provides additional intriguing evidence that the altered functioning of ANS in the late luteal phase could be associated with diverse psychosomatic or behavioral symptoms appearing premenstrually.

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

“…Similar to our findings, Matsumoto et al (13) found that heart rate was increased and HF power was decreased during the late-luteal phase compared with the follicular phase in women who scored high on a premenstrual distress questionnaire. HF power did not vary between menstrual phases in women who had a low score on the questionnaire (13). In contrast to our findings, another study found no change in HRV between the follicular and luteal phases in women diagnosed with PMDD.…”

“…Our findings in the control group that menstrual phase did not influence HRV during sleep support those of some previous studies that have investigated resting HRV in young women when awake (13,19). Others, however, have reported an increase in the LF/HF ratio in the luteal phase (14-16), which we did not find.…”

“…Women who reported high premenstrual distress (although not so severe as to interfere with normal activities) had a higher heart rate and lower HF power during a 20-min period of supine rest in the late-luteal phase than in the early follicular phase. HF power in the late-luteal phase tended to be lower, although not significantly, in the group of women with high premenstrual distress than the other two groups (13). These findings, therefore, suggest that women with moderate symptoms of PMS show altered HRV in association with their symptoms in the late-luteal phase.…”

“…These findings, therefore, suggest that women with moderate symptoms of PMS show altered HRV in association with their symptoms in the late-luteal phase. Given the findings of these two studies (12,13), there is a need to further investigate HRV in women with PMS and PMDD.…”

Effects of Olfactory Stimulation from the Fragrance of the Japanese Citrus Fruit Yuzu (Citrus junos Sieb. ex Tanaka) on Mood States and Salivary Chromogranin A as an Endocrinologic Stress Marker

“…24 The participants were also instructed to abstain from alcohol use and excessive physical activity for 24 hours before testing. 25,26 Referring to a study by Kiecolt-Glaser and colleagues 27 and the authors' own recent research on aromatherapy, 26 the olfactory function test was performed on all participants to confirm that none had anosmia. Briefly, participants were given two sets of three bottles-two held distilled water, and the third contained essential oils (yuzu or lavender)-and were asked to choose the one that differed from the other two.…”