Menstrual cycle

How Your Menstrual Cycle Affects Your Behavior

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Feeling moody or out of sorts? It could be your menstrual cycle. Find out how your hormones can impact your emotional health all month long.

hormones and menstrual phases chart
Throughout the phases of your menstrual cycle, hormone levels fluctuate, which can affect your emotions.

Key Takeaway

  • Hormones influence our emotions and behavior throughout our monthly cycle in a few phases: follicular, ovulatory, and luteal.
  • Experts say that estrogen, progesterone, serotinin, and cortisol levels play a role in our emotions and physical health. Poor lifestyle habits have been shown to potentially worsen symptoms.
  • For mild PMS symptoms, getting more sleep, sticking to a healthy diet, and engaging in some physical activity is recommended.

Some days you beam with euphoric happiness, everything’s going your way, and you feel ready to conquer the toughest obstacles. Other times your clothes feel scratchy, your partner is getting on your last nerve, and you swing between sorrow and rage at the smallest provocation.

To people without ovaries, this may sound a bit over the top, but for the rest of us, it’s just another month. 

It turns out that your hormones are to blame for some of this drama. “The levels of several hormones vary during [the menstrual] cycle,” says Maureen Cernadas, MD, a gynecologic surgeon with Saint Peter’s Healthcare System in New Jersey. 

“Estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, and serotonin levels fluctuate depending on the time of the month,” says Dr. Cernadas, and these fluctuations direct your emotions and physical health like a conductor leading a hormone orchestra.

In perhaps the most infamous stage of the menstrual cycle, PMS appears in over 90 percent of women, causing a long list of uncomfortable symptoms, according to the Office on Women’s Health (OWH).

[1] But while PMS symptoms and resulting behaviors have become the brunt of countless jokes, your hormones actually influence your emotions and behavior throughout the month in a few phases — follicular, ovulatory, and luteal — reports the Cleveland Clinic.

[2]

Feeling Good: The Follicular Phase

The follicular phase of your menstrual cycle begins on the day you start your period and lasts for about 10 to 14 days, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

[3] During this phase, your body secretes follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). 

While FSH doesn’t have a big say in your behavior, it does play a role: stimulating the production of follicles in the ovaries that contain eggs.

[4]

During this time, estradiol (the most potent type of estrogen) begins to rise, cites StatPearls.

[5] “Often, this is when you may feel the most energized, sociable, clear minded, and happy,” says Taylor Hahn, MD, an ob-gyn at HerMD. 

“Serotonin, a neurotransmitter, also tends to increase alongside estradiol and plays an important role in mood and emotions. You may be more likely to make progress on work or school projects,” says Dr. Hahn, adding that with this energy boost, you may be more interested in exercise and physical activity, too. 

A study published in Brain Sciences found that women were more likely to feel positive emotions during the late follicular phase than emotions like anger.

[6] With all those happy feelings flowing, it’s easy to see why the follicular phase is a fan favorite.

Feeling Frisky: The Ovulatory Phase

“During ovulation, estrogen levels peak,” says Cernadas. When estrogen levels get high enough, your body releases luteinizing hormone (LH), usually around the 13th day of your cycle, StatPearls cites.

[7]

LH tells your ovaries to release an egg into the nearby fallopian tube so it can travel to the uterus and be fertilized, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

[8] With high estrogen levels (and perhaps in response to impending egg release), many women report feelings of happiness, attractiveness, and sexual desirability during this phase, research says.

[6]

[9]

“Testosterone rises around the ovulatory phase and is closely linked to improved mood and energy,” says Hahn, adding that as a result, “sex drive and desire may increase.” 

Some experts believe that this timing has a biological basis to naturally encourage sexual activity around the time of ovulation and increase the likelihood of pregnancy, Hahn adds.

Feeling Crappy: The Luteal Phase

After you ovulate, the follicle left behind by the departing egg secretes progesterone, a hormone that gets the uterus ready to accept and maintain a fertilized egg. “Progesterone can initially improve sleep and lower anxiety, however, some may experience bloating, constipation, fatigue, and fluid retention,” says Kahn. It may also increase cravings for junk food and less-nutritional dietary habits, she adds.

If your egg remains unfertilized, your progesterone levels fall, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

[2] At this point, estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone may be at their lowest, says Kahn, paving the way for PMS symptoms like cramps, increased acne, breast tenderness, and headaches.

[4]

PMS Mood Swings

Beyond the physical symptoms, this hormone dip in the luteal phase can feel like an emotional roller coaster, the Cleveland Clinic reports, with symptoms such as the following: 

[4]

  • Libido changes
  • Feelings of anxiety, sadness, or depression
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Change in appetite
  • Insomnia

“For some, these symptoms may be mild, almost nonexistent, or generally go unnoticed. But for others, the symptoms can be significant and distressing,” says Kahn.

What Causes PMS? 

While experts don’t fully understand what causes PMS, they have some leading suspects:

Serotonin A chemical neurotransmitter, serotonin carries messages between your brain and body, and can help regulate mood. One study found that serotonin levels dip during the luteal phase, possibly contributing to PMS symptoms.

[10]

Cortisol A rise in the stress hormone cortisol may be partially responsible for PMS emotional fluctuations, says Cernadas. A study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences suggests that it can also cause weight gain, flushing, and fatigue.

[11]

Lifestyle Habits Some experts have pointed to lifestyle habits as worsening factors for PMS, says Kahn, and they may play a part in PMS symptom intensity. For example, one study found that women who smoked noticed more mental health symptoms during this stage, and women who ate a diet high in fat, sugar, and salt had more physical symptoms.

[12] “But successful management of PMS can be much more complex than just changing diet and exercise,” says Kahn. 

Ways to Manage PMS 

Experiencing PMS symptoms does not necessarily mean something is wrong, according to Kahn: “Every person who experiences menstrual cycles could potentially experience PMS symptoms, but the severity and how they are able to manage those symptoms may vary widely.”

For mild PMS symptoms, Hahn recommends these tips:

  • Make sleep a priority. “Sleep allows both your body and mind to rest, repair, and re-energize during a time when daytime fatigue can be a major issue,” says Hahn. Try to get a full eight hours during this time.[1] 
  • Focus on a balanced diet. “Try and avoid giving into those cravings. The junk food and high-sugar sweets can taste good for a moment, but they don’t help with PMS and can often worsen symptoms like bloating, nausea, and cramping,” says Hahn, who adds that eating smaller, more frequent healthier meals may also lessen PMS symptoms.
  • Engage in low-impact activity. While exercise may feel like the last thing you want to do in the midst of PMS symptoms, movement increases endorphins and can improve and stabilize mood, tamper food cravings, and decrease pain and discomfort, says Hahn. “Choose something as easy as walking around your block or just stretching in your living room,” she adds.

Sometimes premenstrual symptoms are much more severe and point to premenstrual dysphoric disorder. This condition is like PMS but with more severe symptoms like irritability, anxiety, or depression, according to the OWH.

[13]

“Women respond differently to hormonal changes that are out of their control,” says Cernadas. Though your hormone levels may feel beyond your influence, you can use the information to feel empowered about your own menstrual cycle and your behavior changes throughout.

If you’re unsure about your PMS symptoms, your healthcare provider can help you figure out how to address them. 

“I would highly encourage a visit with your doctor or trusted healthcare provider to discuss ways to minimize symptoms, particularly if [they] are interfering with your life, relationships, work, or school,” says Cernadas.

How Diabetes Can Affect Your Period (and Vice Versa)

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Having diabetes can affect your menstrual cycle. Conversely, a menstrual period can impact daily diabetes management. Get a primer on the many ways diabetes and menstrual periods are connected, with tips on everything from managing irregular periods to optimizing blood sugars during menstruation.

Just like maintaining normal blood glucose levels, menstrual cycles are the result of an intricate series of hormone signals, said Dr. Emily Jungheim, a board member of the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “People with diabetes are at higher risk for having irregular or unpredictable menstrual cycles, and in medicine we refer to the menstrual cycle as ‘the fifth vital sign,’ after blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate and temperature.” If you are not having regular monthly cycles, or if your monthly cycles are changing significantly from what is normal for your body—either because they are more frequent or less so—seek advice from your healthcare team.

As a refresher, the menstrual cycle is a monthly hormonal process that ensures a woman can get pregnant. It is counted from the first day of your period, which occurs over several days when blood and tissue lining the uterus sheds and flows out of the vagina. After the period ends, hormone levels of estrogen and progesterone fluctuate. During the menstrual cycle, the body prepares to release an egg in a process called ovulation. This egg can then be fertilized by sperm to create an embryo, which ultimately grows into a fetus, and later, a baby.

For most women—with or without diabetes—monthly periods occur every 21 to 35 days, and last from two to seven days, according to the Mayo Clinic. With that being said, each woman’s period is different, and cycles can be inconsistent at times, especially following a woman’s first period and as she approaches menopause.

Irregular Menstrual Cycles and Diabetes

Anovulation

“Women with diabetes are at higher risk for menstrual abnormalities due to what is called anovulation,”said Jungheim. 

Anovulation is when ovulation, a normal part of the menstrual cycle where the ovary releases an egg into the Fallopian tube, does not occur. “This is really important, as ovulation is required for pregnancy. When women aren’t ovulating regularly and predictably, it can make it harder to get pregnant,” Jungheim adds. In addition, if you don’t have a period then you won’t know when you are more fertile, or more likely to conceive when having sex.

Since the menstrual cycle is what determines when a woman is fertile and when she is not, problems with your period indicate the cycle isn’t progressing the way it is supposed to. The important thing is to actually have a monthly period, Dr. Jungheim said. 

For women who are within the age range for childbearing, it’s normal to get a period every month from the onset of their first period until menopause. Pay attention to certain things, such as different forms of birth control, pregnancy, breastfeeding, weight gain or loss, different health conditions, and menopause/perimenopause, which can cause the body to stop ovulating, and therefore, not have a period.

“If someone with diabetes notices that she is experiencing vaginal bleeding more often than every month, or less often than every month, she should see her healthcare professional for further investigation,” Jungheim said. Know, however, that women can sometimes have periods that are more or less frequent than what is considered the average experience. Learn what is normal for you, and be aware of period changes that aren’t typical for you.

If you’re experiencing anovulation (no ovulation, so no period), there can be many causes, both diabetes-related and not.“That’s where a visit to a good ob-gyn or a reproductive endocrinologist is imperative so that these factors can be considered, appropriate diagnostic tests ordered, and an individualized plan can be developed,” Jungheim added. “How diabetes impacts or changes these factors is very specific to the individual.”

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

Women with type 2 diabetes have higher rates of obesity, which is often associated with polycystic ovarian syndrome, said Veronica Brady, an assistant professor at the University of Texas Cizik School of Nursing and a spokesperson for the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists (ADCES). The most common symptom of polycystic ovarian syndrome is irregular periods. “Sometimes women [with type 2 diabetes] may experience issues with conception, which could be due to irregular periods,” Brady said.

Being Underweight

Women with type 1 diabetes who are underweight may experience irregular periods as well, as a normal body weight is needed to maintain the menstrual cycle and support pregnancy, Brady added.

Regardless of the reason, if you are having irregular periods—which Brady defines as not having a period for more than three months and you are not pregnant or in perimenopause or menopause—talk to your healthcare professional. Periods that are heavy (those which last for five to seven days with large clots, or instances of bleeding a couple times a month) should also be discussed with a healthcare professional, she said.

How a Menstrual Period Can Affect Blood Sugars

Added Cravings and Other Premenstrual Symptoms

When your period arrives, it is possible that it can cause your blood sugars to soar or your body to crave certain foods. 

Some women experience premenstrual symptoms, a week or two before the period begins, that can cause cravings for certain foods and may impact mood, while others do not.

Higher—or Lower—Glucose Levels Than Usual

“In my practice, as well as in the literature, it has been noted that prior to starting their cycle, many women report that their blood glucose levels run higher,” said Brady. Women using insulin pumps may have to increase their basal rates two to three days before their period starts, to cover higher blood sugars. “I usually advise women who are on insulin therapy and notice an increase in blood glucose readings to increase their basal (long-acting) insulin by 10 to 20 percent (depending on how high their blood glucose readings are) for two to three days prior to their menstrual period, and to maintain the higher dose throughout their period,” she said.

Some women with type 1 diabetes may also notice that, at the start of their period, their blood glucose is lower. They may need to decrease their basal insulin for the first one to two days, and then they may need more insulin for the next three to five days, Brady added.

“If someone is having difficulty maintaining stable blood sugar levels, they should keep a menstrual diary and match it up with their blood sugar data,” Brady said. You can use an app or use a pen and paper to note trends and match them to where you are in your menstrual cycle. If you aren’t having periods at predictable intervals after three months of tracking, or your periods occur more often than every 24 days or so, reach out to a healthcare professional.

“If someone notes an association [between blood sugar levels and their menstrual cycle], she may want to talk to her healthcare professional about options for controlling the hormonal shifts that occur with menstrual cycles,” said Jungheim.

Managing Period Discomfort With Diabetes

Once a period arrives, it can cause abdominal pain or cramps, heavy bleeding, or migraines. Over the counter pain relievers and warm compresses to the abdomen can help soothe cramping and abdominal discomfort. But in terms of specific advice for women with diabetes, “the primary thing to consider is to manage your blood glucose as much as possible,” Brady said.

“There are lots of [treatment] options that are available” to help with period problems, said Jungheim. “Sometimes it can be trial and error to find the right answer, but often if we are persistent we can find a solution that works for the individual.”

3 pelvic-opening yoga asanas to regulate your menstrual cycle

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Periods, the more common term for menstrual cycle, is a natural process that takes place in a female body in order to get rid of blood and tissues through the uterus. The menstrual cycle is the time between two consecutive periods and it is mostly 28 days but can be anything between 26-32 days. However, most women, due to today’s hectic lifestyle patterns, experience the problem of irregular periods, which means their periods are delayed by more than a week after the due date.

While a healthy diet and constant workout is the best way to regulate periods without any medications or pills, there are certain yoga asanas, as recommended by fitness trainer Juhi Kapoor, which can help improve your condition.

In her Instagram post, she mentioned how these asanas are great for pelvic opening, strengthening the pelvic and improving blood flow to the reproductive area.

Here are the three yoga asanas that you can try for regulating your menstrual cycle

1. Utkata Konasana or Goddess Squat

This yoga asana helps to open the hips and chest while strengthening and toning the lower body. It also stimulates the uro-genital, respiratory and cardiovascular systems for overall betterment of female health.

2. Skandasana or Side Lunges

It enhances your body balance and core strength apart from stretching the hamstrings and hips, which often get due to a sedentary lifestyle. Overall, it also helps to relieve back pain and prevent sciatica.

3. Malasana or Garland Pose

The well-known yoga pose not only improves balance and concentration, and focus but also increases circulation and blood flow in the pelvis. Not just menstruating women, it is particularly good for pregnant women as well.

All the three yoga asanas are highly recommended to treat PCOS and endometriosis, improve period flow, boost fertility in both men and women apart from leg toning and strengthening. These poses also ease the birth canal opening during delivery.

However, do not perform these asanas if you have knee, ankle and heel pain, or Arthritis. Also avoid doing them in the first trimester of pregnancy, and in the second and third trimester, use the necessary support of the wall or chair to maintain balance.

Could Smoggy Air Affect a Girl’s Periods?

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The quality of the air she breathes might have an impact on a teen girl’s menstrual cycle, a new study suggests.

U.S. researchers said that exposure to smoggy air could raise teen girls’ risk for irregular periods.

“While air pollution exposures have been linked to cardiovascular and pulmonary [lung] disease, this study suggests there may be other systems, such as the reproductive endocrine system, that are affected as well,” said lead researcher Dr. Shruthi Mahalingaiah. She’s assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Boston University School of Medicine.

In the study, Mahalingaiah’s group looked at data from a major U.S. study on women’s health, and compared it to air quality data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The investigators found that exposure to air pollution at ages 14 to 18 was associated with slightly higher chances of menstrual irregularity, and a longer time to achieve menstrual regularity in high school and early adulthood.

The study can’t prove cause-and-effect, but hormones regulate the menstrual cycle, and particulate air pollution has been shown in other studies to affect hormonal activity, the study authors noted.

Prior research has also linked dirty air with health problems such as infertility, metabolic syndrome (a cluster of heart risk factors) and a gynecologic condition known as polycystic ovary syndrome.

Two experts in women’s health said the findings were interesting, but merit further study.

“As we know, there are many causes of irregular menses [periods], and the authors of the study adjusted their results for many confounding variables,” said Dr. Mitchell Kramer. He’s head of obstetrics and gynecology at Huntington Hospital in Huntington, N.Y.

However, “there are some variables that might not have been accounted for” in the study, Kramer added. So there’s still uncertainty as to whether smoggy air might cause irregular periods.

“The exact impact of this on long-term health and reproductive function is not known at this time,” he said, “but it certainly warrants further study.”

Dr. Mary Rausch is an endocrinologist at Northwell Health Fertility in Manhasset, N.Y. Reading over the findings, she speculated that “the reproductive system of these girls, who are just beginning to get their periods, may be particularly sensitive to the effects of air pollution.”

Rausch believes that “the possible link between our environment and the reproductive health of our young women is certainly concerning.”

Air pollution may affect your menstrual cycle: Study

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https://speciality.medicaldialogues.in/air-pollution-may-affect-your-menstrual-cycle-study/

Spironolactone/metformin superior to either treatment alone for PCOS.

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Low-dose spironolactone and metformin combination therapy compared with either drug alone appeared to be an effective treatment for the management of polycystic ovary syndrome, according to results from an open-label, randomized study conducted in India.

“The key findings suggest superior efficacy (menstrual cyclicity, Ferriman–Gallwey [FG] score, serum total testosterone, insulin sensitivity and compliance) of low-dose spironolactone and metformin over either drug alone in the management of PCOS, without increasing the adverse event rate,”Mohd Ashraf Ganie, MD, of the department of endocrinology and metabolism at All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, India, and colleagues wrote.

Women who fell under the Androgen Excess-PCOS (AE-PCOS) 2006 criteria for PCOS were randomly assigned to one of three groups: metformin 1,000 mg per day (n=56), low-dose spironolactone 50 mg per day (n=51) or a combination of both drugs (n=62) for 6 months.

Before randomization, women were given dietary counseling (30 kcal/kg to 35 kcal/kg composed of 50% to 55% carbohydrates, 20% to 25% protein and 15% to 20% fat with high fiber content) besides lifestyle advice (ie, 25 to 35 minutes of brisk walking per day).

Menstrual cycle patterns, FG score, BMI, waist-hip ratio, blood pressure, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, total testosterone, glucose and insulin sensitivity indices were measured at baseline, 3 and 6 months after the intervention. Data indicate all groups had comparable mean age and BMI at baseline.

At 6 months, menstrual cycles per year increased, whereas FG scores, serum total testosterone, AUC-glucose and AUC-insulin decreased significantly (P<.05) in the combination group compared with either therapy alone, according to data.

The adverse events associated with combination therapy were not significantly high. However, some of the clinical benefits could be the result of lifestyle modifications due to the lack of a placebo arm, researchers wrote. Yet, the efficacy and compliance were apparent without an increase in adverse events.

PERSPECTIVE

 

  • This study confirms what we have suspected for some time: that combination therapy is better for women with PCOS than single-agent treatment. In this case, combination therapy included an insulin sensitizer (metformin) and an androgen blocker (spironolactone). It is important to understand that combination therapy works best if the medications being used have differing mechanisms of action. For example, there are a number of drugs that decrease the production of androgens (i.e., metformin or oral contraceptives) while other drugs will block the action of androgens (i.e., spironolactone, finasteride, etc.). Medications may also improve metabolic function (e.g. metformin) if needed. In a disorder as complex and multifactorial as PCOS, optimum therapy will be one that combines currently available therapies to affect maximum benefit while minimizing side-effects. This study suggests that the combination of metformin 1000 mg and spironolactone 50 mg daily is one of these therapies.
  • Ricardo Azziz, MD
  • Professor of obstetrics and gynecology, medicine, and medical humanities
    President of Georgia Regents University
    CEO of Georgia Regents Health System

Source: Endocrine Today

 

Model predicted final menses.

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Researchers at UCLA have developed a model to estimate the timing of a woman’s final menstrual period. According to researchers, the model has the potential to help physicians and patients determine when the menopausal transition is complete and estimate bone loss.

“We need a better way to answer women’s questions about when to expect the final menstrual period,” researcher Gail A. Greendale, MD, from UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, said in a press release. “If further research bears out our approach, it could be the first step to developing Web-based calculators and other tools women can use to estimate where they are in the menopause transition and how far away their final period is.”

Greendale and colleagues included 554 women from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). They designed the probability of meeting specific landmarks: 2 years before, 1 year before and the final menstrual period (FMP).

“For example, some researchers have proposed that an intervention begun 1 or 2 years before the final menstrual period would greatly decrease future fracture risk by preventing the very rapid bone loss that occurs in the few years before and few years after the final menses,” Greendale said. “But before ideas such as this can be tested, we need to accurately predict where a woman is in her timeline to menopause.”

Therefore, the researchers assessed the probability of being in restricted intervals: 1 to 2 years before FMP, 2 years before FMP and FMP, or 1 year before FMP and FMP. Additionally, the markers that best predicted having crossed each landmark were determined, with the ideal markers defined as the greatest area under the receiver-operator curve (AUC).

Researchers wrote that the final models included the current estradiol and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), age, the stage of menopause transition, race/ethnicity and whether serum was collected during the early follicular phase.

Data indicate the AUC of final models predicted the probability of a woman having crossed 2 years before (0.902), 1 year before (0.926) and the FMP (0.945), researchers wrote. If they identified women as having crossed the 2 years before the FMP landmark when predicted probability extended beyond 0.3, the sensitivity was 85% and specificity 77%, they added.

Despite limitations, Greendale and colleagues conclude that the clinical practice implementation of their model is conceivable. However, further studies are warranted to determine validation of these findings.

Source: http://www.healio.com

Asthma Linked To Menstrual Cycle; Hormones Affect Respiratory Symptoms In Women.

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A new study suggests that a woman’s menstrual cycle can affect respiratory symptoms, potentially exacerbating conditions such as asthma.

According to the BBC, Norwegian researchers studied thousands of women with regular menstrual cycles and found that respiratory symptoms became more severe around the time of ovulation.

“The effects of the menstrual cycle on respiratory symptoms in the general population have not been well studied,” said lead author Ferenc Macsali of Norway’s Haukeland University Hospital. “In a cohort of nearly 4,000 women, we found large and consistent changes in respiratory symptoms according to menstrual cycle phase, and, in addition, these patterns varied according to body mass index (BMI), asthma, and smoking status.”

Outcome Magazine summarized the findings:

Significant variations over the menstrual cycle were found for each symptom assessed in all subjects and subgroups. Reported wheezing was higher on cycle days 10-22, with a mid-cycle dip near the putative time of ovulation (~days 14-16) in most subgroups.

Shortness of breath was highest on days 7-21, with a dip just prior to mid-cycle in a number of subgroups. The incidence of cough was higher just after putative ovulation for asthmatics, subjects with BMI ≥ 23kg/m2, and smokers, or just prior to ovulation and the onset of menses in subgroups with a low incidence of symptoms.

The BBC notes that “of those studied, 28.5 percent were smokers and 8 percent had been diagnosed with asthma.”

The study was published online Nov. 9 in the American Thoracic Society‘s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

“Our finding that respiratory symptoms vary according to the stage of the menstrual cycle is novel, as is our finding that these patterns vary according to BMI and smoking status,” Macsali said in a journal news release, according to HealthDay News. “These relationships indicate a link between respiratory symptoms and hormonal changes through the menstrual cycle.”

Macsali added that the results may help women with asthma better manage their symptoms.

“Our results point to the potential for individualizing therapy for respiratory diseases according to individual symptom patterns,” he said. “Adjusting asthma medication, for example, according to a woman’s menstrual cycle might improve its efficacy and help reduce disability and the costs of care.”

Dr. Samantha Walker of charity Asthma UK concurred.

“This research is really interesting, and could help women with asthma to manage their condition better,” Walker told the BBC. “Asthma can be triggered by many different things, and this varies from person to person — but we always encourage people with asthma to be aware of things that trigger their symptoms so that they can take steps to control them.

Though this study may be “novel” in its findings, it would not be the first to find a link between a woman’s menstrual cycle and changes in asthma symptoms.

In 1996, the New York Times reported that a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine had provided evidence to support this connection.

The study, which had looked at the menstrual phase of 182 female patients who needed emergency-room treatment for asthma at hospitals in Pennsylvania, found that “hormonal changes that occur as menstruation starts may make some asthmatic women more vulnerable to attacks.” Specifically, researchers found that 20 percent of the patients were preovulatory and 24 percent were in the ovulatory phase when the attacks occurred.

The Times also pointed out that the possibility of such a link had been first reported in a medical journal in 1931, though it was a connection that had “never been proved or studied extensively” before.

According to statistics provided by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, nearly 25 million Americans suffer from asthma and more than 3,300 die from the condition every year. The condition is also said to be more prevalent among adult women than men.