Symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder and cycle phase are associated with enhanced facial emotion detection: An online cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is a depressive disorder affecting 5%-8% of people with menstrual cycles. Despite evidence that facial emotion detection is altered in depressive disorders, with enhanced detection of negative emotions (negativity bias), minimal research exists on premenstrual dysphoric disorder. OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of premenstrual dysphoric disorder symptoms and the premenstrual phase on accuracy and intensity at detection of facial emotions. DESIGN: Cross-sectional quasi-experimental design. METHOD: The Facial Emotion Detection Task was administered to 72 individuals assigned female at birth with no premenstrual dysphoric disorder (n = 30), and provisional PMDD (n = 42), based on a retrospective Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fifth Edition-based measure of premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Facial emotion detection was examined both irrespective of menstrual cycle phase, and as a function of premenstrual phase (yes, no). The task used neutral-to-emotional facial expression morphs (15 images/morph). Participants indicated the emotion detected for each image within the progressive intensity morph. For all six basic emotions (sad, angry, fearful, happy, disgust, and surprise), two scores were calculated: accuracy of responses and the intensity within the morph at which the correct emotion was first detected (image number). RESULTS: Individuals reporting moderate/severe symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder had more accurate and earlier detection of disgust, regardless of cycle phase. In addition, those with provisional premenstrual dysphoric disorder detected sad emotions earlier. A premenstrual dysphoric disorder group × cycle phase interaction also emerged: individuals reporting premenstrual dysphoric disorder symptoms were more accurate at detecting facial emotions during the premenstrual phase compared to the rest of the cycle, with a large effect size for sad emotions. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest enhanced facial emotion processing in individuals reporting symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder, particularly for sadness and disgust. However, replication is required with larger samples and prospective designs. This premenstrual dysphoric disorder premenstrual emotion detection advantage suggests an adaptive cognitive mechanism in premenstrual syndrome/premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and challenges stigma surrounding premenstrual experiences.

Women with Severe Premenstrual Syndrome or Probable Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder are Better at Identifying Emotional Expressions on People's Faces, Especially During the Premenstrual PhasePremenstrual dysphoric disorder is a depressive disorder affecting women where they experience emotional and physical symptoms during the premenstrual phase (i.e. the week before one's period). It is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome. Research indicates that depression can affect facial emotion recognition. Accurately recognizing other people's emotions is an important skill that helps us develop social connections and keep ourselves and others safe. Quick recognition of facial emotions allows us to understand and support others, and quickly identify dangerous situations by recognizing other people's emotional responses. The goal of this study was to examine how premenstrual dysphoric disorder symptoms and the premenstrual phase may affect the ability of women to recognize and identify emotions on other people's faces. A total of 72 women (42 with premenstrual dysphoric disorder, 30 without premenstrual dysphoric disorder) completed the Facial Emotion Detection Task. This task measured how accurate and early the women were able to detect happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust in faces. Women with moderate/severe symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder had more accurate and earlier detection of disgust, regardless of where they were in their menstrual cycle. Women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder detected sad emotions earlier. Furthermore, women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder were more accurate at detecting facial emotions when they were tested in the premenstrual phase, and were especially more accurate in detecting sad emotions. The findings suggest that women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder are better at detecting facial emotions and show a premenstrual dysphoric disorder premenstrual emotion detection advantage. This tendency for women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder to better detect emotions in others, particularly when they are in the premenstrual cycle phase, would have benefits. As one of the first reports of a potentially beneficial effect of premenstrual syndrome for women, the findings may help decrease stigma associated with premenstrual dysphoric disorder and premenstrual syndrome. Further research is needed to replicate and extend these findings.

Impact of symptoms, experiences, and perceptions of the menstrual cycle on recreational physical activity of cyclically menstruating individuals: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: The menstrual cycle often presents barriers to participation in daily life activities, including physical activity (PA), which is a cornerstone of health and well-being. The purpose of this systematic review was to explore and summarize the impact of symptoms, experiences, and perceptions of the menstrual cycle on recreational PA (RPA), including sports, exercise and active recreation, in the general population. METHODS: Six databases were searched for studies that investigated the impact of the menstrual cycle on PA among individuals who were cyclically menstruating, healthy, and not involved in professional sports training. RESULTS: The search yielded 3025 studies that were screened for relevance and eligibility, resulting in 25 eligible studies, which were found to be of moderate-to-high quality following a quality and risk-of-bias assessment. Thematic synthesis of qualitative and quantitative data from the selected studies, constituting 16,557 adults and 3715 adolescents, identified the impact of menstrual symptoms on the physical and psychological capability to participate in RPA, social opportunity barriers to RPA (e.g., social pressure due to the sociocultural taboo against menstruation), as well reflective (knowledge) and automatic (habit) motivation on RPA behaviours. CONCLUSION: The variability in menstrual symptoms and corresponding experiences suggested the need for an individualized approach to RPA promotion. Furthermore, this review highlighted the need to address the sociocultural taboo against menstruation, as well as improve the provision of knowledge and resources related to the menstrual cycle and RPA, in order to promote and facilitate RPA for cyclically menstruating individuals throughout the menstrual cycle.

Longitudinal associations between women's cycle characteristics and sexual motivation using Flo cycle tracking data.

In the current research, we used data from a sample of 16,327 menstrual cycle tracking app users to examine the association between menstrual cycle characteristics and sexual motivation tracked over 10 months of app use. Guided by past work that finds links between menstrual cycle characteristics related to conception risk and sexual motivation, we found that (a) between-women, shorter (r = - 0.04, p = 0.007), more regular cycles predicted small increases in sexual motivation (r = - 0.04, p = 0.001); (b) within-women, shorter cycles predicted greater sexual motivation that month (r = - 0.04, p < 0.001) and (c) the next month (ßs: - 0.10 to - 0.06, ps < 0.001), but (d) changes in sexual motivation did not reliably precede changes in cycle length (ßs: - 0.01 to 0.02, ps > 0.15). Within-woman analyses also revealed that (e) shorter cycles were followed by more frequent reports of fatigue (ß = - 0.06, p < 0.001), insomnia (ß = - 0.03, p < 0.001), and food cravings (ß = - 0.04, p < 0.001). Together, results suggest that menstrual cycles characteristics and sexual motivation may covary together in ways that reflect changing investments in reproduction. Small effect sizes and lack of experimental control warrant cautious interpretations of results.

Factors influencing menstrual regularity among female workers: a cross-sectional analysis study.

BACKGROUND: Regularity of menstrual cycles is an important indicator of women's health and fertility, and female workers are exposed to several factors, such as sleep disorders, stress, and shift work, that affect their menstrual regularity. This makes it necessary to comprehensively identify the determinants of menstrual regularity. Therefore, this study identified the factors affecting menstrual regularity among female workers from physiological, psychological, and situational dimensions based on the theory of unpleasant symptoms. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of the 2010-2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and utilized the data of 2418 female workers. Based on the theory of unpleasant symptoms, physiological factors included age, age at menarche, childbirth experience, body mass index, and sleep duration. Psychological factors included stress level, depressive mood, and suicidal ideation. Situational factors included education level, household income, consumption of alcohol, engagement in smoking, and work schedule. The χ²-test and hierarchical logistic regression analysis were performed, reflecting the complex sample design. RESULTS: Age at menarche, childbirth experience, and body mass index among physiological factors and education level and work schedule among situational factors were found to be related to menstrual regularity. A higher risk of menstrual irregularities was found among those who had given birth (versus those who had not), had a high age at menarche (versus those with a low age at menarche), were obese (versus those who had a normal body mass index), had elementary school-level or lesser educational achievements (versus those with college graduate-level or higher educational achievements), and who had a shift work schedule (versus those with a fixed schedule). CONCLUSIONS: Intervention is needed for female workers who have these risk factors, and special attention must be paid to female workers who have a shift work schedule. Additionally, since body mass index can be controlled, intervention concerning body mass index is necessary to reduce menstrual irregularity.

State and trait cognitions differentially affect cyclicity of mood and cortisol in individuals with and without premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is characterized by a cyclical symptom course. Previous research provides limited findings on possible menstrual-cycle-related psychological and psychoendocrinological processes in PMDD. By using ambulatory assessment (AA), we aimed to compare mood and cortisol cyclicity in individuals with PMDD and healthy controls (HC), and to assess effects of habitual and momentary repetitive negative thinking (RNT) and present moment awareness (PMA) on mood and cortisol across the cycle in both groups. Individuals with PMDD and HC (n = 60 each) completed baseline questionnaires on habitual RNT and PMA. Momentary rumination and PMA, positive and negative affect (NA), and saliva-cortisol were assessed over four consecutive days during both the follicular and the late-luteal phase. Individuals with PMDD showed mood cyclicity indicating mood worsening while HC showed cortisol cyclicity indicating decreasing cortisol levels toward the late-luteal phase. In individuals with PMDD, lower habitual RNT and higher habitual PMA predicted better mood only during the follicular phase whereas lower momentary rumination and higher momentary PMA predicted better mood during the late-luteal phase. No effects on cortisol activity were found. In HC, higher habitual PMA predicted lower NA during the late-luteal phase whereas lower momentary rumination and higher momentary PMA predicted stronger cortisol reduction toward the late-luteal phase. While favorable habitual cognitions might not protect individuals with PMDD against premenstrual mood deterioration, respective momentary cognitions may reflect possible protective factors, suggesting an opportunity for microinterventions to directly target late-luteal-phase-specific state processes in affected individuals. The lack of cortisol cyclicity might represent an endocrinological marker for PMDD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Perceived associations between the menstrual cycle and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A qualitative interview study exploring lived experiences.

BACKGROUND: The research gap regarding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in people who were assigned female at birth has led to a lack of knowledge and adequate approaches in clinical practice, as well as diagnosis processes. Recent studies report potential associations between reproductive hormones and ADHD, but existing research remains scarce. AIM: This study aims to explore the experiences of people who perceive an association between their menstrual cycle and their ADHD symptoms. METHODOLOGY: Design and Method. A qualitative research design with an inductive approach was used. Ten participants were interviewed, using semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The data was transcribed, coded, and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis according to Braun and Clarke. RESULTS: Findings show participant's perceived associations between their ADHD and their menstrual cycle: participants reported experiencing ADHD symptom mor severe during the mid-luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Other results showed uncertainty around ADHD medication in relation to the cycle and varied experiences with health care encounters as well as heightened challenged around menstrual health management. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insights to how perceived associations between ADHD and the menstrual cycle might be experienced. This report highlights the need for further research and theory about the potential associations between ADHD and reproductive hormones. The researchers strongly suggested that forthcoming ADHD studies consider times of key hormonal changes, such as puberty and menarche, menopause, hormonal birth control, pregnancy, hormone treatment, and more.

Probing corporeal awareness in women through virtual reality induction of embreathment illusion.

We capitalized on the respiratory bodily illusion that we discovered in a previous study and called 'Embreathment' where we showed that breathing modulates corporeal awareness in men. Despite the relevance of the issue, no such studies are available in women. To bridge this gap, we tested whether the synchronization of avatar-participant respiration patterns influenced females' bodily awareness. We collected cardiac and respiratory interoceptive measures, administered body (dis)satisfaction questionnaires, and tracked participants' menstrual cycles via a mobile app. Our approach allowed us to characterize the 'Embreathment' illusion in women, and explore the relationships between menstrual cycle, interoception and body image. We found that breathing was as crucial as visual appearance in eliciting feelings of ownership and held greater significance than any other cue with respect to body agency in both women and men. Moreover, a positive correlation between menstrual cycle days and body image concerns, and a negative correlation between interoceptive sensibility and body dissatisfaction were found, confirming that women's body dissatisfaction arises during the last days of menstrual cycle and is associated with interoception. These findings have potential implications for corporeal awareness alterations in clinical conditions like eating disorders and schizophrenia.

Ovulatory cycle shifts in human motivational prioritisation of sex and food.

Previous research on the endogenous effects of ovarian hormones on motivational states in women has focused on sexual motivation. The Motivational Priority Shifts Hypothesis has a broader scope. It predicts a shift from somatic to reproductive motivation when fertile. In a highly powered preregistered online diary study across 40 days, we tested whether 390 women report such an ovulatory shift in sexual and eating motivation and behaviour. We compared 209 naturally cycling women to 181 women taking hormonal contraceptives (HC) to rule out non-ovulatory changes across the cycle as confounders. We found robust ovulatory decreases in food intake and increases in general sexual desire, in-pair sexual desire and initiation of dyadic sexual behaviour. Extra-pair sexual desire increased mid-cycle, but the effect did not differ significantly in HC women, questioning an ovulatory effect. Descriptively, solitary sexual desire and behaviour, dyadic sexual behaviour, appetite, and satiety showed expected mid-cycle changes that were diminished in HC women, but these failed to reach our strict preregistered significance level. Our results provide insight into current theoretical debates about ovulatory cycle shifts while calling for future research to determine motivational mechanisms behind ovulatory changes in food intake and considering romantic partners' motivational states to explain the occurrence of dyadic sexual behaviour.

Longitudinal changes in sexual desire and attraction among women who started using the Natural Cycles app.

Many women experience sexual side effects, such as decreased libido, when taking hormonal contraceptives (HCs). However, little is known about the extent to which libido recovers after discontinuing HCs, nor about the timeframe in which recovery is expected to occur. Given that HCs suppress the activities of multiple endogenous hormones that regulate both the ovulatory cycle and women's sexual function, resumption of cycles should predict libido recovery. Here, using a combination of repeated and retrospective measures, we examined changes in sexual desire and partner attraction (among partnered women) across a three-month period in a sample of Natural Cycles users (Survey 1: n = 1596; Survey 2: n = 550) who recently discontinued HCs. We also tested whether changes in these outcomes coincided with resumption of the ovulatory cycle and whether they were associated with additional factors related to HC use (e.g., duration of HC use) or relationship characteristics (e.g., relationship length). Results revealed that both sexual desire and partner attraction, on average, increased across three months after beginning to use Natural Cycles. While the prediction that changes in sexual desire would co-occur with cycle resumption was supported, there was also evidence that libido continued to increase even after cycles resumed. Together, these results offer new insights into relationships between HC discontinuation and women's sexual psychology and lay the groundwork for future research exploring the mechanisms underlying these effects.

The prevalence of menstrual cycle symptoms and their association with mental health and sleep in German exercising women and athletes.

OBJECTIVES: Menstrual cycle symptoms are very common in female athletes. However, more evidence about the association between menstrual cycle characteristics and symptoms with sleep and mental health in athletes needs to be gathered. This study aimed to examine this association in German exercising women and athletes. DESIGN: 322 women (mean age: 23.13 ±â€¯4.36) participated in a cross-sectional study. The survey included the Menstrual Symptom index (MSi), the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Athletes Sleep Behavior Questionnaire (ASBQ). Additionally, demographic, sport-specific data and further menstrual cycle characteristics were examined. Multiple regression models were used for the statistical analyses. RESULTS: The MSi score demonstrated a highly significant (p < 0.001) positive association with Depression, Anxiety, Stress, PSQI, and ASBQ. The most prevalent menstrual cycle symptoms were cravings/increased appetite, mood changes/anxiety, and tiredness/fatigue. A difference between individual and team sport athletes could not be found. Moreover, there was no association between the constructs and menses length, irregularity, or heaviness of bleeding. CONCLUSIONS: Menstrual cycle symptoms occur very frequently in female athletes. In this study, they were related to mental health, sleep quality, and sleep behavior, regardless of the cycle phase. This evidence demonstrates the relevance of considering the menstrual cycle and menstrual symptoms in future studies with female athletes and in sport practice.

Inconsistencies in the perceived impact of the menstrual cycle on sport performance and in the prevalence of menstrual cycle symptoms: A scoping review of the literature.

OBJECTIVES: This scoping review aimed to summarize the findings of studies regarding the perceived impact of the menstrual cycle on athletic performance, as well as the prevalence of negative menstrual cycle symptoms. DESIGN: Scoping review. METHODS: Three databases were searched and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) was used as guidance. RESULTS: A total of 39 studies were included in the final analysis. Between 2.8 and 100 % of athletes reported their performance being negatively impacted by their menstrual cycle, and the main reason was the occurrence of menstrual cycle symptoms. Additionally, a large variability in the prevalence of menstrual cycle symptoms was reported in the different studies mainly due to methodological differences and recall biases. CONCLUSIONS: Similarly, as to what has been reported in reviews summarizing performance outcomes during different menstrual cycle phases, this review highlights the high degree of variability between how athletes perceive to be impacted by their menstrual/hormonal contraceptive cycle. REGISTRATION: The protocol of this scoping review was registered at the Open Science Framework on 14 September 2023 (osf.io/efu9x).

Is trait rumination associated with affective reactivity to the menstrual cycle? A prospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: A minority of naturally cycling individuals experience clinically significant affective changes across the menstrual cycle. However, few studies have examined cognitive and behavioral constructs that may maintain or worsen these changes. Several small studies link rumination with premenstrual negative affect, with authors concluding that a tendency to ruminate amplifies and perpetuates hormone-sensitive affective symptoms. Replication in larger samples is needed to confirm the validity of rumination as a treatment target. METHOD: 190 cycling individuals (M = 30.82 years; 61.1% Caucasian) were recruited for moderate perceived stress, a risk factor for cyclical symptoms. They completed the Rumination Response Scale at baseline, then reported daily affective and physical symptoms across 1-6 cycles. Multilevel growth models tested trait rumination as a predictor of baseline levels, luteal increases, and follicular decreases in symptoms. RESULTS: The degree of affective cyclicity was normally distributed across a substantial range, supporting feasibility of hypothesis tests and validating the concept of dimensional hormone sensitivity. Contrary to prediction, higher brooding did not predict levels or cyclical changes of any symptom. In a subsample selected for luteal increases in negative affect, brooding predicted higher baseline negative affect but still did not predict affective cyclicity. CONCLUSIONS: An individual's trait-like propensity to engage in rumination may not be a valid treatment target in premenstrual mood disorders. State-like changes in rumination should still be further explored, and well-powered prospective studies should explore other cognitive and behavioral factors to inform development of targeted psychological treatments for patients with cyclical affective symptoms.

Learning exceptions to category rules varies across the menstrual cycle.

Ways in which ovarian hormones affect cognition have been long overlooked despite strong evidence of their effects on the brain. To address this gap, we study performance on a rule-plus-exception category learning task, a complex task that requires careful coordination of core cognitive mechanisms, across the menstrual cycle (N = 171). Results show that the menstrual cycle distinctly affects exception learning in a manner that parallels the typical rise and fall of estradiol across the cycle. Participants in their high estradiol phase outperform participants in their low estradiol phase and demonstrate more rapid learning of exceptions than a male comparison group. A likely mechanism underlying this effect is estradiol's impact on pattern separation and completion pathways in the hippocampus. These results provide novel evidence for the effects of the menstrual cycle on category learning, and underscore the importance of considering female sex-related variables in cognitive neuroscience research.

[Complex therapy of psychosomatic disorders associated with the female reproductive cycle]. / Kompleksnaya terapiya psikhosomaticheskikh rasstroistv, assotsiirovannykh s reproduktivnym tsiklom zhenshchiny.

Psychosomatic disorders make a great contribution to the structure of reproductive health disorders in women. The purpose of this review was to analyze the available data on effective methods of therapy for psychosomatic disorders associated with the reproductive cycle of women - psychopharmacological, psychotherapeutic, non-drug biological, hormonal. The review summarizes the evidence in relation to the treatment of disorders such as: stress-related menstrual irregularities; premenstrual dysphoric disorder; perinatal affective disorders (especially depression); psychosomatic disorders of the involutionary period. General recommendations on the complex therapy of psychosomatic disorders associated with the menstrual cycle within the framework of an interdisciplinary team have been formed.

Determining menstrual cycle phase: An empirical examination of methodologies and recommendations for improvement in behavioral and brain sciences.

The recent decade has brought an exciting proliferation of behavioral, psychological and neuroscientific research involving the menstrual cycle. However, the reliability and validity of many popular methodologies for determining menstrual cycle phase lack empirical examination. These under-investigated methods include: (1) predicting menstrual cycle phase using self-report information only (e.g., "count" methods), (2) utilizing ovarian hormone ranges to determine menstrual cycle phase, and (3) using ovarian hormone changes from limited measurements (e.g., two time points) to determine menstrual cycle phase. In the current study, we examine the accuracy of these methods for menstrual cycle phase determination using 35-day within-person assessments of circulating ovarian hormones from 96 females across the menstrual cycle. Findings indicate that all three common methods are error-prone, resulting in phases being incorrectly determined for many participants, with Cohen's kappa estimates ranging from -0.13 to 0.53 indicating disagreement to only moderate agreement depending on the comparison. Such methodological challenges are surmountable through careful study design, more frequent hormone assays (when possible), and utilization of sophisticated statistical methods. With increased methodological rigor in behavioral, psychological and neuroscientific research, the field will be poised to detect biobehavioral correlates of ovarian hormone fluctuations for the betterment of the mental health and wellbeing of millions of females.

Emotion recognition and mood along the menstrual cycle.

Previous studies have demonstrated menstrual cycle dependent changes in the recognition of facial emotional expressions, specifically the expression of fear, anger, sadness or disgust. While some studies demonstrate an improvement of emotion recognition performance during the peri-ovulatory phase, when estradiol levels peak, other studies demonstrate a deterioration of emotion recognition performance during the mid-luteal phase, when progesterone levels peak. It has been hypothesized, that these changes in emotion recognition performance mirror mood changes along the menstrual cycle. In the present study, we investigate, whether changes in emotion recognition performance along the menstrual cycle are mediated by mood changes along the menstrual cycle. In a combined cross-sectional and longitudinal study design, two large samples of women completed an emotion recognition task, as well as several mood questionnaires during their menses, peri-ovulatory or mid-luteal cycle phase. 65 women completed the task thrice, once during each cycle phase, order counterbalanced. In order to control for potential learning effects, a sample of 153 women completed the task only once in one of the three cycle phases. In both samples, results demonstrated no significant changes in emotion recognition performance along the menstrual cycle, irrespective of the performance measure investigated (accuracy, reaction time, frequency of emotion classifications) and irrespective of the emotion displayed. Bayesian statistics provided very strong evidence for the null hypothesis, that emotion recognition does not change along the menstrual cycle. There was also no moderation of emotion recognition changes along the menstrual cycle by mood changes along the menstrual cycle. Mood changes along the menstrual cycle followed the expected pattern with highest positive affect and least premenstrual symptoms around ovulation and lowest positive affect, but strongest premenstrual symptoms during menses. Interestingly, premenstrual symptoms were negatively related to estradiol, suggesting a protective effect of estrogen during the luteal cycle phase against mood worsening during the premenstrual phase.

Influencia del ciclo menstrual en el rendimiento físico y cognitivo en mujeres eumenorreicas / Influence of the menstrual cycle on physical and cognitive performance in eumenorrheic women

Introducción: Las hormonas sexuales femeninas propias del ciclo menstrual no solo tienen funciones reproductivas, tambiéninfluyen en otros sistemas fisiológicos pudiendo afectar al rendimiento deportivo y cognitivo. El propósito del presente estudioha sido evaluar distintos aspectos como la composición corporal, la resistencia, la fuerza muscular y algunas capacidadescognitivas en diferentes etapas del ciclo menstrual. Material y método: En el estudio participaron ocho mujeres jóvenes eumenorreicas (edad = 23,1 ± 4,4 años) con ciclosmenstruales regulares. Se realizó una prueba de densitometría y una bioimpedancia para estudiar la composición corporal, unaprueba de memoria visual a corto plazo y un test de tiempo de reacción para evaluar habilidades cognitivas y se analizaroncaracterísticas del músculo (grosor y rigidez del recto anterior y fuerza muscular) junto a una prueba de esfuerzo para evaluarel rendimiento durante las fases folicular media (FF) y lútea media (FL) del ciclo menstrual de las participantes. Resultados: Durante la fase folicular las participantes registraron un mayor tiempo total (FF = 488,5 ± 93,18 s vs. FL = 468,6± 81,29 s; p = 0,015) y una frecuencia cardiaca inicial menor (FF = 83,3 ± 10,23 PPM vs. FL = 92,9 ± 7,67 PPM; p = 0,034) en laprueba de esfuerzo. Además, Respecto a las habilidades cognitivas, en la fase folicular se obtuvieron mejores resultados enel tiempo de reacción tanto con la mano derecha (FF = 0,426 ± 0,082 s vs. FL = 0,453 ± 0,087 s; p = 0,036) como con la manoizquierda (FF = 0,435 ± 0,096 s vs. FL = 0,466 ± 0,077 s; p = 0,034). Por otro lado, se encontró un mayor porcentaje de grasa(FF = 27,3 ± 5,1% vs. FL = 27,9 ± 5,0%; p = 0,041) en la fase lútea. Conclusión: El rendimiento en resistencia y en aspectos cognitivos como es el tiempo de reacción fue mejor en la FaseFolicular mientras que se observó un mayor porcentaje de grasa en la Fase Lútea. Sin embargo, la memoria, la fuerza y lascaracterísticas...(AU)

Introduction: The female sexual hormones typical of the menstrual cycle not only have reproductive functions, they alsoinfluence other physiological systems and can affect sports and cognitive performance. The purpose of this study has beento evaluate different aspects such as body composition, endurance, muscle strength and some cognitive abilities at differentstages of the menstrual cycle. Material and method: Eight young eumenorrheic women (age = 23.1 ± 4.4 years) with regular menstrual cycles participatedin the study. A densitometry and bioimpedance test were performed to study body composition, a short-term visual memorytest and a reaction time test to assess cognitive abilities, and muscle characteristics (thickness and stiffness of the anteriorrectus and muscle strength) along with a progressive test to exhaustion were analyzed to assess performance during themid-follicular (FF) and mid-luteal (FL) phases of the participants’ menstrual cycle. Results: During the follicular phase, the participants registered a greater total time (FF = 488.5 ± 93.18 s vs. FL = 468.6 ± 81.29 s;P = 0.015) and a lower initial heart rate (FF = 83.3 ± 10.23 PPM vs. FL = 92.9 ± 7.67 PPM; P = 0.034) in the progressive test toexhaustion. Regarding cognitive abilities, in the follicular phase, better results were obtained in reaction time both with theright hand (FF = 0.426 ± 0.082 s vs. FL = 0.453 ± 0.087 s; P = 0.036) and with the left hand (FF = 0.435 ± 0.096 s vs. FL = 0.466 ±0.077 s; P = 0.034). On the other hand, a higher percentage of fat (FF = 27.3 ± 5.1% vs. FL = 27.9 ± 5.0%; P = 0.041) was foundin the luteal phase. Conclusion: Performance in endurance and in cognitive test, such as reaction time was better in the Follicular Phase, whilea higher percentage of fat was observed in the Luteal Phase. However, memory, strength and muscular characteristics werenot affected by the hormonal fluctuations of the menstrual cycle.(AU)

Sexual Desire of Women With Fast and Slow Life History Throughout the Ovulatory Cycle.

Findings on female sexual motivation across the ovulatory cycle are mixed. Some studies have reported increased female sexual desire on fertile days or midway through the ovulatory cycle, whereas others have reported increased sexual desire on nonfertile days. We postulated and tested the hypothesis that the pattern of the cyclical change of female sexual desire is associated with women's life history. Female participants completed life-history measures and rated their levels of sexual desire on the survey day and reported the first day of their current and subsequent cycle, respectively (Study 1), or recorded their sexual desire throughout an entire cycle by submitting daily reports (Study 2). Results indicate that women with a fast life history experienced peak sexual desire midcycle, whereas women with a slow life history experienced two peaks of sexual desire midcycle and around their menses. These findings suggest that, consistent with the underlying life history, cyclically differential peaking of sexual desire may serve different reproductive functions.

Examining a window of vulnerability for affective symptoms in the mid-luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.

Particular phases of the menstrual cycle may exacerbate affective symptoms for females with a diagnosed mental health disorder. However, there are mixed findings regarding whether affective symptoms change across the menstrual cycle in females without a clinical diagnosis. The window of vulnerability model proposes that natural increases in ovarian hormones in the mid-luteal phase of the menstrual cycle lead to systematic changes in brain networks associated with affective processing. Consequently, the model posits that females may experience stress more intensely and remember negative events more readily in the mid-luteal phase, increasing their risk for higher affective symptoms. Using a 35-day longitudinal study design, we tested the window of vulnerability model in a non-clinical sample. We tracked naturally cycling females' daily stress and three types of affective symptoms: anxious apprehension, anxious arousal, and anhedonic depression. Using multilevel modeling, we simultaneously modeled within- and between-person associations among stress and menstrual phase for each affective symptom. We found increased anhedonic depression in the mid-luteal phase but not anxious apprehension or anxious arousal. Moreover, we detected a positive association between within- and between-person stress and anxious apprehension and anhedonic depression, but not anxious arousal. These associations were not stronger in the mid-luteal phase. Overall, we provide weak evidence for a window of vulnerability for affective symptoms in the mid-luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Our findings suggest that stress is a better predictor of fluctuations in affective symptoms than the menstrual cycle. Moreover, our findings highlight the importance of measuring multiple negative affective symptoms because they may be differentially related to stress and the menstrual cycle.

Influence of COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination on the menstrual cycle: A retrospective study in Hungary.

Observations of women and clinicians indicated that the prevalence of menstrual cycle problems has escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it was not clear whether the observed menstrual cycle changes were related to vaccination, the disease itself or the COVID-19 pandemic-induced psychological alterations. To systematically analyze this question, we conducted a human online survey in women aged between 18 and 65 in Hungary. The menstrual cycle of 1563 individuals were analyzed in our study in relation to the COVID-19 vaccination, the COVID-19 infection, the pandemic itself and the mental health. We found no association between the COVID-19 vaccination, the vaccine types or the COVID-19 infection and the menstrual cycle changes. We also evaluated the menstrual cycle alterations focusing on three parameters of the menstrual cycle including the cycle length, the menses length and the cycle regularity in three pandemic phases: the pre-peak, the peak and the post-peak period in Hungary. Our finding was that the length of the menstrual cycle did not change in any of the periods. However, the menses length increased, while the regularity of the menstrual cycle decreased significantly during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic when comparing to the pre- and post-peak periods. In addition, we exhibited that the length and the regularity of the menstrual cycle both correlated with the severity of depression during the post-peak period, therefore we concluded that the reported menstrual cycle abnormalities during the peak of COVID-19 in Hungary might be the result of elevated depressive symptoms.