Premenstrual Syndrome in Young Women With Eight Weeks of Aerobic Exercise

Premenstrual Syndrome in Young Women With Eight Weeks of Aerobic Exercise

The premenstrual syndrome includes physical and psychological symptoms that occur at the end menstrual cycle and exercise is one of the ways to reduce symptoms. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a regular 8-week aerobic exercise program on psychological symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.

Premenstrual syndrome is characterized by the presence of both physical and behavioral (including affective) symptoms that occur repetitively in the second half of the menstrual cycle and interfere with some aspects of the woman's life(1). The core symptoms of PMS include affective symptoms, such as irritability, depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms, such as breast pain, bloating, swelling, and headache (2). Women with moderate to severe PMS symptoms had a reduction in health-related quality of life(3) and work productivity, increased work absenteeism, and visits to ambulatory healthcare providers (4), so the treatment of this syndrome is essential.

Inclusion Criteria:

• young women aged 18-25 years with a body mass index (BMI): 18-25 kg/m2, having regular menstrual cycles of 23-35 days duration, no previous practice of aerobic exercise, free from musculoskeletal injury, not using oral contraceptive pills or taking any psychotropic agents, having no depression or genital tract diseases

Exclusion Criteria:

• pregnancy, contraindications to physical exercise, metabolic or cardiorespiratory illness, cigarette smokers, women who recover from a major injury or using anti-inflammatory, hyperlipidemia or hypertension medications, any abnormality in ovulation, and women with diabetes mellitus, thyroid, pituitary, or ovarian disorders