Premenstrual symptoms linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease

Women diagnosed with premenstrual symptoms have a slightly increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life. This is shown by a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Nature Cardiovascular Research.

Premenstrual symptoms include premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and the more severe form, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). The symptoms, which appear a few days before menstruation and then subside, can be both psychological and physical.

The study included more than 99,000 women with premenstrual symptoms who were followed for up to 22 years. The researchers compared their health with women without these symptoms—both in the general population and by comparing them with their own sisters to take into account hereditary factors and upbringing.

The results show that women with premenstrual symptoms had about a 10% higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease. When the researchers also looked at different types of cardiovascular disease, they found that the link was particularly strong for heart rhythm disorders (arrhythmias), where the risk was 31% higher, and for stroke caused by a blood clot, where the risk was 27% higher.

Even after the researchers took into account other factors such as smoking, BMI and mental health, the link between premenstrual symptoms and increased disease risk remained.

“The increased risk was particularly clear in women who were diagnosed before the age of 25 and in those who had also experienced postnatal depression, a condition that can also be caused by hormonal fluctuations,” says Yihui Yang, Ph.D. student at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet and first author of the study.

Research has not yet identified the cause of this link, but the researchers behind the study suggest three possible explanations. One is that women with premenstrual symptoms may have a disrupted regulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), which controls blood pressure and fluid balance in the body, among other things.

The second is that these women have increased levels of inflammation in the body, which is a known risk factor for atherosclerosis and other heart problems. Finally, it may be because women with premenstrual symptoms may have metabolic abnormalities, which are linked to an increased risk of both stroke and heart attack.

“We hope that our findings will contribute to greater awareness that premenstrual disorders not only affect daily life but can also have consequences for long-term health,” says Donghao Lu, associate professor at the same department and last author of the study.