Mood swings across the menstrual cycle: a comparison between oral contraceptive users and non-users

Abstract

In this study we have evaluated the cyclical mood change throughout menstrual cycle in oral contraceptive (OC) users and non-users. A total of 62 young women, with a regular menstrual cycle and not clinically depressed, kept, for five weeks, daily records of their visual analogue ratings of mood, irritability, energy and tension (Global Vigor-Affect scale). A Profile of Mood States was performed weekly as a further self-evaluation of mood. Eighteen women were taking oral contraceptives and 44 were nonusers. Only the depression-dejection dimension varied significantly during the menstrual cycle (p 5 0.05) with an improvement of mood around day 14 and worsening premenstrually. No significant differences were found between the two groups. On the whole the results suggest that oral contraceptives do not alter the physiological fluctuation of mood occurring with menses in young healthy women.

Oral contraceptive use and psychiatric disorders in a nationally representative sample of women

“…In addition to the prevention of unintended pregnancy, OCs provide health benefits including decreased risk of ovarian, endometrial and colorectal cancers; and preservation of bone mineral density (Burkman et al 2001; Jensen and Speroff 2000). There is also some evidence that OCs provide mental health benefits, including decreases in depressed mood and irritability (Schultz-Zehden and Boschitsch 2006; Short 2009), and alleviation of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) symptoms (Lopez et al), although these findings have not been completely consistent (Greco et al 2007; Natale and Albertazzi 2006). Conversely, OC users cite perceived side effects, including negative changes in mood, as a common reason for discontinuation (Moreau et al 2007; Stuart et al; Westhoff et al 2007).…”

Smoking- and menstrual-related symptomatology during short-term smoking abstinence by menstrual phase and depressive symptoms

“…The risk for experiencing depressive symptoms for women is high during periods associated with increased fluctuations of sex hormones such as puberty (Deecher, Andree, Sloan, & Schechter, 2008), postpartum (Klier, et al, 2007) and the menopause transition (Ryan, et al, 2009). Some studies have shown that depression, depressive symptoms, or other negative moods are greater in the luteal phase (Allen, Hatsukami, Christianson, & Nelson, 1999; Harvey, Hitchcock, & Prior, 2009; Natale & Albertazzi, 2006). Female smokers with depressive symptoms during a smoking cessation attempt may experience more intensity and persistence of some withdrawal symptoms (Langdon, et al, 2013).…”

The role of ovarian steroid hormones in mood

“…Discrepancies in premenstrual-linked mood changes have been shown to depend on the scale used (Natale and Albertazzi, 2006). Studies that use the menstrual cycle phase as a proxy for directly measured ovarian hormone levels may fail to capture variability within predefined phases (Bellem et al, 2011;Hampson and Young, 2008).…”