The focus of this research database is on how stress affects women's health,

and options for treatment using mind-body therapies. 

If you are not a health care professional, see new "Medical Glossary" below.  

To obtain full summaries of the articles, see "How to Get Abstracts" below. 

In a group of Swedish women followed longitudinally, dysmenorrhea at age 24 was significantly less than at age 19. At 24, 67% reported cramping, 10% significant enough to limit daily activity. Reduction in prevalence and severity of dysmenorrhea was associated with women who had had children and those on birth control pills.

1990 Br J Obstet Gynaecol 97;7:588-94

Sundell, G., Milsom, I., and Andersch, B.

7759347 JA

Amount of stress did not differ in women who experienced mild vs. mod-extreme dysmenorrhea.

1995 Health Care Women Int 16;2:167-78

Jarrett, M., Heitkemper, M. M., and Shaver, J. F.

8788460 JA

Less than 1/3 of a group of 70 British nursing students consulted GPs about their dysmenorrhea, and 2/3 of those who did were dissatisfied with treatment offered.

1996 Br J Nurs 5;8:480-4

Hewison, A. and van den Akker, O. B.

The presence of menstrual pain impeded the access to memories of pleasant personal experiences, and if unpleasant affect was involved with the pain, promoted the retrieval of unpleasant events.

1990 J Abnorm Psychol 99;2:174-8

Eich, E., Rachman, S., and Lopatka, C.

2919094 RCT

In patients given a placebo instead of pain medication for dysmenorrhea, there was a positive response the first month of 84%, 29% in the second month, 16% in the third and 10% in the fourth.

1989 Pain 36;1:43-7

Fedele, L., Marchini, M., Acaia, B., Garagiola, U., and Tiengo, M.

11530120 JA

All across the menstrual cycle, women who had a history of dysmenorrhea experienced lower pain thresholds and higher anxiety scores than women without dysmenorrhea.

2001 Obstet Gynecol 98;3:407-11

Granot, M., Yarnitsky, D., Itskovitz-Eldor, J., Granovsky, Y., Peer, E., and Zimmer, E. Z.

In this prospectively followed group of Chinese new brides, there was a significant dose-response relationship between exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and increased incidence of dysmenorrhea.

2000 Environ Health Perspect 108;11:1019-22

Chen, C., Cho, S. I., Damokosh, A. I., Chen, D., Li, G., Wang, X., and Xu, X.

9211480 JA

Very involved physiological study showing that women with and without dysmenorrhea experienced different pain sensitivity of skin, subcutaneous tissue and muscle depending on time of the menstrual cycle.

1997 Pain 71;2:187-97

Giamberardino, M. A., Berkley, K. J., Iezzi, S., de Bigontina, P., and Vecchiet, L.

7942720 JA

In this group of 383 women, 19.8% had dysmenorrhea. Of those women, 61% had functional bowel disorder vs. 20% of the controls. Women with dysmenorrhea had significantly increased prostaglandin levels.

1994 Am J Gastroenterol 89;11:1973-7

Crowell, M. D., Dubin, N. H., Robinson, J. C., Cheskin, L. J., Schuster, M. M., Heller, B. R., and Whitehead, W. E.

1987551 JA

Women with dysmenorrhea reported higher levels of GI symptoms at menses. Cycle related changes in serum cortisol, urine catecholamines, and report of anxiety were increased in the luteal phase, more so in women with dysmenorrhea.

1991 Nurs Res 40;1:20-6

Heitkemper, M., Jarrett, M., Bond, E. F., and Turner, P.

Ten high school girls who were given relaxation therapy had significantly less cramping, nausea, concentration problems and irritability.

1980 Int J Gynaecol Obstet 17;4:340-2

Ben-Menachem, M.

6890074 CT

Women who received four sessions of relaxation training had significant reductions in pain and time lost compared to their own baselines and a control group. Effects were still evident 18 months later.

1982 J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 13;2:123-30

Quillen, M. A. and Denney, D. R.

7271696 MA

1981 meta-analysis of hypnotherapy, "lamaze exercises", biofeedback , and desensitization (imagery and relaxation), showed that desensitization was the most consistently effective.

1981 Behav Res Ther 19;4:303-12

Denney, D. R. and Gerrard, M.

3070050 CT

Activity scheduling as well as relaxation training were effective dysmenorrhea treatments.

1988 J Behav Med 11;5:483-95

Sigmon, S. T. and Nelson, R. O.

7326271 CT

Biofeedback significantly decreased dysmenorrhea symptoms.

1981 Biofeedback Self Regul 6;3:367-73

Hart, A. D., Mathisen, K. S., and Prater, J. S.

365250 JA

Single case of a woman with dysmenorrhea despite hormonal and analgesic treatment who significantly improved with biofeedback.

1978 Biofeedback Self Regul 3;3:301-5

Dietvorst, T. F. and Osborne, D.

10450473 JA

Discusses the conflicting data with regards to dysmenorrhea and exercise, delineating the physiologic interactions, and outlining parameters for future research.

1999 Br J Sports Med 33;4:227

Locke, R. J. and Warren, M. P.

9624650 R,T

Review of studies on exercise and dysmenorrhea suggest decreased prevalence and /or improved symptomatology.

1998 Med Sci Sports Exerc 30;6:906-9

Golomb, L. M., Solidum, A. A., and Warren, M. P.

2634110 JA

This article suggests that exercise aggravates physical dysmenorrhea symptoms, but since exercise also relieves stress and elevates mood, results are a trade-off.

1989 J Behav Med 12;6:569-86

Metheny, W. P. and Smith, R. P.

10674588 PMS

33 women who were placed on a low-fat vegetarian diet experienced significantly less dysmenorrhea duration and intensity, as well as significantly decreased duration of other PMS symptoms.

2000 Obstet Gynecol 95;2:245-50

Barnard, N. D., Scialli, A. R., Hurlock, D., and Bertron, P.