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Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers, 2016
New Rochelle, NY, November 28, 2016--The results of a new study designed to compare the severity and timing of perimenstrual symptoms among women who do or do not use cyclic hormonal contraception are reported in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Women's Health website. (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/jwh.2016.5941)
The article entitled "The Influence of Cyclic Hormonal Contraception on Expression of Premenstrual Syndrome" is coauthored by Journal of Women's Health Editor-in-Chief Susan Kornstein, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA, Kimberly Yonkers, MD and Margaret Altemus, MD, Yale University School of Medicine, and Brianna Cameron and Ralitza Gueorguieva, PhD, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT.
The researchers report changes in menstrual cycle symptom scores for variables such as depression, anger, irritability, and physical symptoms between cyclic hormonal contraception users and nonusers. They found that cyclic hormonal contraception may attenuate premenstrual symptoms, but that the timing of symptoms is similar regardless of whether the subjects used hormonal contraception. Better understanding the psychological and physical effects of hormonal contraception could help guide clinicians in the diagnosis and treatment of premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
"Because women taking hormonal contraceptives are routinely excluded from studies of PMS and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), this study provides a valuable examination of the influence of exogenous hormones on premenstrual symptom expression and response to treatment," says Robert Downs, MD, Deputy Editor of Journal of Women's Health, Richmond, VA.
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Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Mental Health under Award Number R01 MH072955, R01 MH072645, and MH072962. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
About the Journal
Journal of Women's Health, published monthly, is a core multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the diseases and conditions that hold greater risk for or are more prevalent among women, as well as diseases that present differently in women. Led by Editor-in-Chief Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA, and President of the Academy of Women's Health, the Journal covers the latest advances and clinical applications of new diagnostic procedures and therapeutic protocols for the prevention and management of women's healthcare issues. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Women's Health website. Journal of Women's Health is the official journal of the Academy of Women's Health and the Society for Women's Health Research. (http://www.liebertpub.com/jwh)
About the Academy
Academy of Women's Health is an interdisciplinary, international association of physicians, nurses, and other health professionals who work across the broad field of women's health, providing its members with up-to-date advances and options in clinical care that will enable the best outcomes for their women patients. The Academy's focus includes the dissemination of translational research and evidence-based practices for disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of women across the lifespan. Journal of Women's Health and the Academy of Women's Health are co-presenters of Women's Health 2017: The 25th Anniversary Congress which will take place April 28-30, 2017 in Washington, DC.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including LGBT Health, Population Health Management, and Breastfeeding Medicine. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website. (http://www.liebertpub.com)