Childhood adversity predicts stronger premenstrual mood worsening, stress appraisal and cortisol decrease in women with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder

Sibel Nayman; Isabelle Florence Schricker; Iris Reinhard; Christine Kuehner

doi:10.3389/fendo.2023.1278531

Childhood adversity predicts stronger premenstrual mood worsening, stress appraisal and cortisol decrease in women with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023 Nov 2:14:1278531. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1278531. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Sibel Nayman¹, Isabelle Florence Schricker¹, Iris Reinhard², Christine Kuehner¹

Affiliations

¹ Research Group Longitudinal and Intervention Research, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
² Department of Biostatistics, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.

Abstract

Background: Lifetime traumatic events are prevalent in women with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and predict stronger premenstrual symptom intensities. Less is known about the unique effects of childhood adversity on PMDD. This study aims to investigate the menstrual cycle related course of mood, stress appraisal and cortisol activity over time and the effects of childhood adversity - by controlling for recent stressful life events - on the cyclicity of these outcomes.

Methods: Fifty-two women with PMDD completed questionnaires on childhood adversity and stressful life events during the past 12 months. Momentary negative and positive affect, stress appraisal, and saliva-cortisol were assessed within an Ambulatory Assessment (AA) design over four consecutive days during both the follicular and the late luteal phase. This AA was repeated after five months, resulting in two measurement bursts.

Results: Women with PMDD showed expected cycle related variations in mood and stress appraisal, whereby these effects weakened over time. No cortisol cyclicity was identified. Higher childhood adversity was linked to stronger increases in negative affect and stress appraisal, and stronger decreases in positive affect from the follicular toward the late luteal phase. Women with higher childhood adversity exhibited lower cortisol levels during the late luteal phase compared to the follicular phase whereas no such cyclicity was found in women with lower childhood adversity.

Conclusion: Childhood adversity appears to show independent deteriorating effects on premenstrual mood worsening and stress appraisal in women with PMDD. The observed cortisol cyclicity in women with higher childhood adversity may point to different neuroendocrine subtypes of PMDD in relation to childhood trauma and requires further systematic research.

Keywords: Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder; childhood adversity; cortisol; measurement burst; stress; stressful life events.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adverse Childhood Experiences*
Affect
Female
Humans
Hydrocortisone
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder*
Premenstrual Syndrome*

Substances

Hydrocortisone

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by a research grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG KU1464/6-3) to CK.