PMS after 40: persistence of a stress-related symptom pattern

The purpose of this study was to compare women over 40 years of age with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) to women with a low-severity (LS) symptom pattern with respect to physiologic indicators of stress arousal and response, stress hormone arousal, stressful life circumstances, anger, self- and social control, and interpersonal sensitivity. Women with PMS experienced more negative life events, more difficulty with anger, and more concerns about self- and social control, than women with an LS pattern. These experiences were coupled with increased physiologic arousal and stress responses (skin conductance and muscle tension levels) and relatively higher norepinephrine levels than for women with an LS pattern, but with dampened cardiovascular responses to stressors. As they age, women with a PMS symptom pattern demonstrate persistent differences in stress arousal and response from women with an LS pattern.