Menstrual cycle symptoms are associated with nutrient intake: Results from network analysis from an online survey

Less is understood about female's nutrient intake's impact on the severity of the menstrual cycle (MC) symptoms, which consequently interferes with their life quality.

The goal of this study is to look at the relationship between female nutrient consumption and the severity of MC symptoms to better understand how food affects women's quality of life during their MCs.

To investigate this impact among healthy adult women, a self-administered, cross-sectional online questionnaire was obtained from 204 regularly menstruating women aged between 18 and 40.

The questionnaire included questions on sociodemographic characteristics, a semi-food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), Arabic Premenstrual Syndrome Scale (A-PMS-S) for MC symptoms.

Results showed intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) was associated with lower no to mild versus moderate to severe physical symptoms (odds ratio (OR): 0.71, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.59-0.85; p < 0.001), psychological symptoms (OR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.77-0.99; p < 0.05), and functioning symptoms (OR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.83-1.02; p > 0.1). Thiamine prevented psychological symptoms (OR: 0.02, 95% CI: 0.02-0.02; p < 0.001), physiological symptoms (OR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.58-0.60; p < 0.001), and functioning symptoms (OR: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.47-0.48; p < 0.001). Saturated fat, iron, and niacin intakes increased the risk of experiencing MC psychological symptoms.

Our findings suggest that MC symptoms were correlated with some nutrient intake from food sources, which is considered an external controllable factor more than demographic characteristics. Therefore, women should be aware of the type of food consumed during their monthly MC phase.