TY - JOUR
T1 - The Association of Inflammation with Premenstrual Symptoms
AU - Gold, Ellen B
AU - Wells, Craig
AU - Rasor, Marianne O Neill
PY - 2016/9/1
Y1 - 2016/9/1
N2 - Background: About 80% of women experience premenstrual symptoms (PMSx), and about 50% of women seek medical care for them, posing a large medical care burden. However, despite women's use of anti-inflammatory agents for relief from these symptoms, and the fact that anti-inflammatory agents provide relief from some PMSx, the relationship of inflammation to PMSx has not been well investigated. Methods: We, therefore, undertook the present cross-sectional analyses using baseline data from the longitudinal Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), a racially/ethnically diverse cohort of midlife women (n = 2939), to determine if a biomarker of inflammation, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), was associated with PMSx. We performed factor analyses with Varimax rotations to determine five groupings of eight symptoms to develop a parsimonious set of outcome variables. We conducted backward stepwise multiple logistic regression models for each grouping, eliminating non-significant (p > 0.05) covariates. Results: Having an hs-CRP level >3 mg/L was significantly positively associated with premenstrual mood symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.27, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.02-1.58), abdominal cramps/back pain (aOR = 1.40, 95% CI 1.09-1.80), appetite cravings/weight gain/bloating (aOR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.04-1.89), and breast pain (aOR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.02-1.55). Elevated hs-CRP level was not associated with premenstrual headaches or reporting three or more PMSx. Conclusions: The significant relationships of specific groups of PMSx with elevated hs-CRP levels have potential clinical implications for treatment and possibly for prevention by advising women about the factors associated with inflammation and the potential for treatment with anti-inflammatory agents.
AB - Background: About 80% of women experience premenstrual symptoms (PMSx), and about 50% of women seek medical care for them, posing a large medical care burden. However, despite women's use of anti-inflammatory agents for relief from these symptoms, and the fact that anti-inflammatory agents provide relief from some PMSx, the relationship of inflammation to PMSx has not been well investigated. Methods: We, therefore, undertook the present cross-sectional analyses using baseline data from the longitudinal Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), a racially/ethnically diverse cohort of midlife women (n = 2939), to determine if a biomarker of inflammation, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), was associated with PMSx. We performed factor analyses with Varimax rotations to determine five groupings of eight symptoms to develop a parsimonious set of outcome variables. We conducted backward stepwise multiple logistic regression models for each grouping, eliminating non-significant (p > 0.05) covariates. Results: Having an hs-CRP level >3 mg/L was significantly positively associated with premenstrual mood symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.27, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.02-1.58), abdominal cramps/back pain (aOR = 1.40, 95% CI 1.09-1.80), appetite cravings/weight gain/bloating (aOR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.04-1.89), and breast pain (aOR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.02-1.55). Elevated hs-CRP level was not associated with premenstrual headaches or reporting three or more PMSx. Conclusions: The significant relationships of specific groups of PMSx with elevated hs-CRP levels have potential clinical implications for treatment and possibly for prevention by advising women about the factors associated with inflammation and the potential for treatment with anti-inflammatory agents.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84987892476&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84987892476&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1089/jwh.2015.5529
DO - 10.1089/jwh.2015.5529
M3 - Article
C2 - 27135720
AN - SCOPUS:84987892476
VL - 25
SP - 865
EP - 874
JO - Journal of Women's Health
JF - Journal of Women's Health
SN - 1540-9996
IS - 9
ER -