Food craving, mood and the menstrual cycle

Seventy-six women, with a mean age of 35.7 years, who reported premenstrual craving for sweet foods in a retrospective questionnaire, were assessed prospectively with a pre- and post-menstrual eating questionnaire and daily ratings of craving, mood, irritability and breast tenderness over two menstrual cycles. In 72% of these women a perimenstrual pattern of food craving was confirmed. In 13% this craving was confined to the menstrual phase. There was no consistent association between food craving and mood change, either in timing or severity. Women with more severe mood change did not report more severe craving. There was also no association between food craving and cyclical breast tenderness. Perimenstrual food craving, therefore, appears to be a cyclical phenomenon in its own right, of uncertain aetiology and worthy of further study.     

Cardiovascular responses to psychological and physiological stressors during the menstrual cycle

Psychological and physical stress reactivity was studied in 15 females in two phases of the menstrual cycle (cycle days 5-7 and 24-26) and in 15 males. Each female was matched for age and time between sessions with a male. There was a significant phase-related difference in cardiovascular reactivity among the females. Females in the luteal phase reacted significantly more to the cold pressor but not to the mental arithmetic test. There were significant sex differences in systolic blood pressure, the males displaying higher levels during provocation, as well as during control conditions. The females were more reactive in heart rate to the mental stressor when changes from control conditions to stress were calculated. When the data were analyzed separately for smokers and non-smokers, there was a significant interaction between menstrual cycle phase and smoking. In the luteal phase, the female smokers were more reactive in systolic blood pressure than the non-smokers. The male smokers were more reactive than the non-smokers in diastolic blood pressure response to mental arithmetic, but not to the cold pressor test. Significantly higher levels of cortisol and aldosterone were found in the luteal phase as compared with the follicular phase. The cortisol levels were higher in the males than in the females in the follicular phase, whereas the female aldosterone concentrations in the luteal phase were higher than those of the males.     

Influence of the menstrual cycle on proenkephalin peptide F responses to maximal cycle exercise

Proenkephalin peptide F [107–140] is an enkephalin-containing peptide found predominantly within the adrenal medulla and is co-packaged with epinephrine within adrenal medullary chromaffin granules. Peptide F has been shown to have the classic opioid analgesia effects along with immune cell interactions. This is only the second peptide F study in women, and in it we compare the responses of peptide F to a maximal cycle exercise test and recovery values over the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. Eight untrained (directly documented in this study) women who were eumenorrheic performed a progressive maximal exercise test to volitional exhaustion on a cycle ergometer, once during the follicular phase, and once during the luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. Blood was obtained pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise and at 0, 15, and 30 min into recovery. Typical exercise changes in response to the cycle tests were observed with blood lactate increases that remained elevated 30 min into recovery. No significant exercise-induced elevations were observed for peptide F concentrations with exercise nor were any differences observed between the two menstrual phases. Thus, the effects of the menstrual cycle on peptide F concentrations appear to be minimal under the conditions of this investigation. With high concentrations of peptide F observed at rest (approx. 0.2–0.3 pmol ml⁻¹) pre-exercise arousal mechanisms may have obviated any exercise-induced response. In addition, inhibition via elevated epinephrine may have inhibited any post-exercise increases and finally adrenal medullary capacity for circulatory concentrations of peptide F may have been reached in such untrained women. Pre-exercise arousal mechanisms potentially related to analgesia may also be involved to prepare untrained women for the stress of maximal exercise.     

Sleep patterns related to menstrual cycle phase and premenstrual affective symptoms

An ovulatory menstrual cycle is characterized by fluctuating levels of progesterone. Progesterone, a gonadal hormone known for its soporific and thermogenic effects, is present in negligible levels prior to ovulation and in high levels after ovulation. To describe and compare sleep patterns in relation to ovulatory cycles and premenstrual mood state, sleep was monitored in healthy women at two phases of the menstrual cycle. Results indicated that rapid-eye-movement (REM) latency was significantly shorter during the postovulatory (luteal) phase compared to the preovulatory (follicular) phase, but there was no significant difference in latency to sleep onset or the percentage of REM sleep. While there were no menstrual cycle phase differences in the percentages of various sleep stages, the women with negative affect symptoms during the premenstruum demonstrated significantly less delta sleep during both menstrual cycle phases in comparison with the asymptomatic subjects.     

Effects of fragrance on female sexual arousal and mood across the menstrual cycle

The effects of fragrance on sexual response in women were investigated using subjective and physiological measures of sexual arousal and of mood. Responses were obtained from female participants in three different fragrance conditions (female fragrance, male fragrance, and a "blank" or neutral substance), as they viewed erotic and sexually neutral films, and fantasized about sexual situations. Each woman was tested twice: during the midfollicular and periovulatory phases of her menstrual cycle. Menstrual cycle phase effects were apparent; self-report data indicated greater sexual arousal and more positive mood during the periovulatory than during the follicular phase. Results demonstrated a positive effect of the male fragrance on genital arousal during erotic fantasy, but this finding was apparent only during the follicular phase testing session. This effect did not appear to be mediated by any effects of fragrance on mood.     

The relationship between exercise-induced oxidative stress and the menstrual cycle

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between exercise-induced oxidative stress and the menstrual cycle in healthy sedentary woman. Eighteen women with regular menstrual cycles participated in this research. The subjects monitored their basal body temperature (BBT) and carried out a urinary ovulation test (twice) for 2 months prior to the study to determine their menstrual cycle. The subjects performed bicycle ergometer exercise (for 30 min at 60% O_2max) in each phase (menses, follicular and luteal phases) of the menstrual cycle. Serum estradiol and progesterone concentrations were determined from blood that was collected at rest. Serum thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD) were determined as markers of oxidative stress in blood samples collected at rest and after exercise. TBARS was significantly lower after exercise [2.4 (0.5) nmol/ml] in the follicular phase, and T-SOD was significantly lower after exercise [3.2 (1.2) U/ml] in the luteal phase. EC-SOD did not show a significant change after exercise during each phase of the menstrual cycle. Furthermore, there was a negative correlation between estradiol and T-SOD (r=–0.46, P<0.05) and between estradiol and EC-SOD (r=–0.55, P<0.05) during the menses. All data are presented as the mean value and its standard deviation.The results of this study suggest that when the estradiol level is high in a menstrual cycle, free radicals produced as a consequence of exercise may be easily eliminated by sedentary women with normal menstrual cycles.     

Effects of the menstrual cycle phase on the blood lactate responses to exercise

The effects of menstrual cycle phase on the blood lactate response to exercise were examined in eumenorrheic women (n=9). Exercise tests were performed at the mid-follicular and mid-luteal points in the menstrual cycle (confirmed by basal body temperature records and hormone levels). Blood lactates were measured at rest and during the recovery from exercise. Resting lactates were not different between the exercise tests; however, recovery lactates were significantly (p < 0.05) lower in the luteal compared to the follicular phase. The mechanism for these differences is unclear, but may be related to an estrogen mediated increased lipid metabolism inducing a concurrent reduction in carbohydrate metabolism. The present findings question the use of blood lactate monitoring as a suitable technique to measure exercise intensity in eumenorrheic women.     

The effect of the menstrual cycle on electrophysiological and behavioral measures of memory and mood

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were compared between the menses and ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle in response to visually presented words, some of which were repeated as part of direct and indirect memory tasks. Twelve spontaneously cycling women were tested during the menses and ovulatory phases. For the direct task, participants had to discriminate between new words and those repeated after a mean of six trials. In the indirect task, subjects were required to discriminate between target and nontarget words. Some of the nontarget words were repeated after a mean of six trials. The ERP repetition effect mean amplitude was significantly greater in response to repeated words at both cycle phases but did not differ across the cycle. P300 amplitude was significantly greater during menses than the ovulatory phase. We conclude that context updating mechanisms as indexed by the P300 are sensitive to cyclic hormonal fluctuations.     

Early stress leads to effects on estrous cycle and differential responses to stress

Women are more susceptible than men to stress-related mental disorders. However, few animal studies have been conducted on females. Given the interactions between gonadic hormones and the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, we hypothesized that the effects of early stress may be different between males and females depending on the state of their estrous cycle. Using adult Long-Evans rats of both genders, the effects of maternal deprivation were investigated on the estrous cycle length, corticosterone levels after food deprivation or restraint stress procedures, and the negative feedback efficiency of dexamethasone on the HPA axis. The individual length of the estrous cycle was evaluated using vaginal smears. Non-deprived (AFR) females mainly exhibited regular 5-day cycles (40% of the population) and 4-5-day cycles (26%), with fewer 4-day cycles (18%) and irregular cycles (16%). Comparatively, deprived (D) females displayed a significant decrease of 5-day cycles (24%) and a significant increase of irregular cycles (28%). After the restraint stress procedure, D females exhibited higher corticosterone level than AFR females during proestrous. After the food deprivation procedure, D and AFR females maintained dose-response sensitivity to the negative feedback induced by dexamethasone but only during proestrous. No differences were observed between D and AFR males under these experimental conditions. These data highlight the importance of early environmental factors in regulating the spontaneous pattern of the estrous cycle as well as gender- and stressor-dependent sensitivity of the HPA axis according to steroid levels.     

Influence of menstrual cycle and oral contraceptives on tolerance to uncompensable heat stress

In this study we examined the influence of menstrual cycle phase and oral contraceptive use on thermoregulation and tolerance during uncompensable heat stress. Eighteen women (18–35 years), who differed only with respect to oral contraceptive use (n?=?9) or non-use (n?=?9), performed light intermittent exercise at 40°C and 30% relative humidity while wearing nuclear, biological and chemical protective clothing. Their responses were compared during the early follicular (EF, days 2–5) and mid-luteal (ML, days 19–22) phases of the menstrual cycle. Since oral contraceptives are presumed to inhibit ovulation, a quasi-early follicular (q-EF) and quasi-mid-luteal (q-ML) phase was assumed for the users. Estradiol and progesterone measurements verified that all subjects were tested during the desired phases of the menstrual cycle. Results demonstrated that rectal temperature (T _re) was elevated in ML compared with EF among the non-users at the beginning and throughout the heat-stress trial. For the users, T _re was higher in q-ML compared with q-EF at the beginning, and for 75?min of the heat-stress exposure. Tolerance times were significantly longer during EF [128.1 (13.4)?min, mean (SD)] compared with ML [107.4 (8.6)?min] for the non-users, indicating that these women are at a thermoregulatory advantage during the EF phase of their menstrual cycle. For the users, tolerance times were similar in both the q-EF [113.0 (5.8)?min] and q-ML [116.8 (11.2)?min] phases and did not differ from those of the non-users. It was concluded that oral contraceptive use had little or no influence on tolerance to uncompensable heat stress, whereas tolerance was increased during EF for non-users of oral contraceptives.     

Effects of the menstrual cycle on mood, neurocognitive and neuroendocrine function in healthy premenopausal women

BACKGROUND: Neurocognitive functioning may be impaired in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle due to associated changes in hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis function. This study examines the relationship between changes in neurocognition and HPA axis function in different phases of the menstrual cycle. METHOD: Fifteen female volunteers, free from psychiatric history and hormonal medication were tested twice, during mid-follicular and late-luteal phases in a randomized, crossover design. Mood, neurocognitive function, and basal cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) were profiled. RESULTS: Relative to the follicular phase, verbal fluency was impaired in the luteal phase and reaction times speeded on a continuous performance task, without affecting overall accuracy. 'Hedonic' scores on the UWIST-MACL scale were decreased in the luteal phase. There was also evidence of changes in the function of the HPA axis, with 24 h urinary cortisol concentrations and salivary DHEA levels being significantly lower during the luteal phase. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that luteal phase HPA axis function is lower than in the follicular phase in premenopausal healthy women. This putative biological difference may be important for our understanding of the aetiopathogenesis of menstrually related mood change and neurocognitive disturbance.     

Cardiovascular,hormonal, and emotional responses to the TSST in relation to sex and menstrual cycle phase

The prevalence of stress disorders differs between men and women. An understanding of how men and women vary in acute stress responses may help to understand these sex differences. We compared responses to the TSST and a control task in healthy men (N=28) and women tested in two phases (Follicular N=29, Luteal N=23) of the menstrual cycle. Men exhibited greater cortisol responses to stress than women in either phase. Luteal women exhibited the greatest subjective and allopregnanolone responses to stress, whereas follicular women exhibited blunted noradrenaline responses. Partial correlations controlling for group differences revealed that individuals who were most sensitive to the subjective effects of stress exhibited the largest salivary cortisol, noradrenaline, and allopregnanolone responses and the smallest progesterone responses to stress. We discuss our findings in the context of sex differences in the prevalence of stress‐linked disorders.     

Influence of the menstrual cycle and oral contraceptives on thermoregulatory responses to exercise in young women

Summary Thermoregulatory responses to exercise in relation to the phase of the menstrual cycle were studied in ten women taking oral contraceptives (P) and in ten women not taking oral contraceptives (NP). Each subject was tested for maximal aerobic capacity ( ) and for 50% exercise in the follicular (F) and luteal (L) phases of the menstrual cycle. Since the oral contraceptives would have prevented ovulation a quasi-follicular phase (q-F) and a quasi-luteal phase (q-L) of the menstrual cycle were assumed for P subjects. Exercise was performed on a cycle ergometer at an ambient temperature of 24° C and relative air humidity of 50%. Rectal (T _re), mean skin ( ), mean body ( ) temperatures and heart rate (f _c) were measured. Sweat rate was estimated by the continuous measurement of relative humidity of air in a ventilated capsule placed on the chest, converted to absolute pressure (PH₂O_chest). Gain for sweating was calculated as a ratio of increase inPH₂O_chest to the appropriate increase inT _re for the whole period of sweating (G) and for unsteady-state (G_u) separately. The did not differ either between the groups of subjects or between the phases of the menstrual cycle. In P, rectal temperature threshold for sweating (T _{re, td}) was 37.85° C in q-L and 37.60° C in q-F (P < 0.01) and corresponded to a significant difference fromT _re at rest. TheT _re, andf _c increased similarly during exercise in q-F and q-L. No menstrual phase-related differences were observed either in the dynamics of sweating or in G. In NP,T _{re, td} was shorter in L than in F (37.70 vs 37.47° C,P<0.02) with a significantly greater value fromT _re at rest. The dynamics and G for sweating were also greater in L than in F. The G_u was 36.8 versus 16.6 kPa · ° C^–1 (P<0.01) while G was 6.4 versus 3.8 kPa · ° C^–1 (P<0.05), respectively. TheT _re, andf _c increased significantly more in phase F than in phase L. It was concluded that in these women performing moderate exercise, there was a greater temperature threshold and larger gains for sweating in phase L than in phase F. Intake of oral contraceptives reduced the differences in the gains for sweating making the thermoregulatory responses to exercise more uniform.     

Immunology and the menstrual cycle

Sex and gender differences in disease prevalence, pathogenesis and modulation have been frequently reported. The menstrual cycle represents the opportunity to study the physiological effect of hormonal fluctuations in vivo on the immune function and chronic disease modulation. Reports on the effect of the cycle on immune cell numbers and activity fluctuations are scarce, but recent publications demonstrate an increasing interest in the subject. The menstrual cycle might affect immune cell numbers and modulate their activity throughout the 4-week cycle, as demonstrated in the case of regulatory T cells. The implications of these fluctuations are particularly relevant in the field of chronic diseases affecting women of reproductive age. In fact, baseline inflammation and immune cell activation in association with other mechanisms, such as regulation of receptor expression, modulation of muscular contraction and behavioral aspects might explain the menstrual-associated fluctuations described in chronic and acute diseases. In the following review the current knowledge about the modulatory effects of the menstrual cycle on both immune cells and systemic diseases, such as autoimmune diseases, asthma, diabetes, cardiac arrhythmia and schizophrenia, is reported. Most of these diseases display worsening of symptoms premenstrually or during menses due to physiologic effects on the target tissue mediated by progesterone and estrogen fluctuations and, thus, display paradigmatic changes potentially relevant to numerous other conditions.     

Women and their husbands: mood and arousal fluctuations across the menstrual cycle and days of the week

This study examined the relationship between biological (menstrual cycle) and social-contextual (day of the week) factors and psychological and physical events among nine women and their spouses. Employing P-technique factor analysis to identify consistent patterns in single-subject data over 90 days of reporting, two factors emerged: Negative Mood and Arousal. When these factors were compared over five phases of each woman's menstrual cycle, the only significant finding was that men's Arousal scores were significantly greater during their wives' menses phase compared to their follicular phase. Negative Moods decreased on weekends for both males and females, and females also showed a decline in Arousal on the weekend. The finding that our social factor (day of the week) accounted for more variability in subjects' reports than did our biological factor (the menstrual cycle) emphasizes the importance of considering biological events in the context of social structures and belief systems.     

Modulating effects of the menstrual cycle on cardiorespiratory responses to exercise under acute hypobaric hypoxia

The purpose of this study was to examine the hypothesis that the menstrual cycle-induced modulation of the cardiorespiratory response to exercise might be altered by acute exposure to altitude. During both the luteal and follicular phases, 9 moderately trained female subjects with normal menstrual cycles performed incremental exercise to maximal effort on a cycle ergometer at sea level (SL) and under hypobaric hypoxia (HH) at the equivalent of 3,000 m altitude. Both at rest and during exercise, minute ventilation (.VE) and oxygen uptake (.VO(2)) did not differ between the luteal and follicular phases (either at SL or HH). However, the ratio of .VE to .VO(2) (.VE /.VO(2)), both at rest and during peak exercise, was greater in the luteal phase than in the follicular phase under HH conditions. Furthermore, the partial pressure of end-tidal carbon dioxide (PETCO(2)) during exercise was lower in the luteal phase than in the follicular phase in HH. These results suggest that the menstrual cycle-induced modulation of the ventilatory response to exercise may be altered under acute hypobaric-hypoxic conditions.     

No effect of menstrual cycle phase on glucose and glucoregulatory endocrine responses to prolonged exercise

Introduction

Prolonged exercise requires increased utilization of blood glucose and adjustment of glucoregulatory hormones. Estrogen can reduce hepatic gluconeogenesis which could affect insulin concentrations. Amylin is co-secreted with insulin and controls influx of glucose into the blood.

Purpose

To determine the effect of menstrual cycle stage on glucose, leptin, and pancreatic hormone responses to prolonged (90 min) exercise.

Methods

Five healthy, eumenorrheic women (24.6 ± 5.1 years; 67.4 ± 1 kg) were monitored for 3 months to determine menstrual cycle length. Subjects completed a preliminary session to determine exercise workloads and, in a fasted condition, completed two randomized 90-min treadmill exercise trials at 60 % VO_2max during the early follicular (EFX) and mid-luteal phase (MLX) of their menstrual cycle. Blood samples were analyzed for glucose, insulin, C-peptide, amylin, glucagon, leptin, and cortisol concentrations at rest (?30 and 0 min), during exercise (18, 36, 54, 72, and 90 min) and after 20 min of recovery.

Results

No changes in amylin, leptin, or cortisol occurred for EFX and MLX trials. A significant (p < 0.05) time effect occurred for glucose, insulin, and glucagon with reduced insulin across the exercise trial and increases in glucose and glucagon later in the trial, but there were no differences between the EFX and MLX trials.

Conclusions

Menstrual cycle stage does not affect glucose, insulin, C-peptide, amylin, glucagon, cortisol, and leptin responses to prolonged exercise; however, the exercise reduces insulin and increases glucose and glucagon concentrations. This is the first study to determine acute effects of exercise on amylin and other glucoregulatory hormone responses in women.     

Suicidal behaviour and the menstrual cycle

BACKGROUND: To investigate the available data regarding possible associations between phases of the menstrual cycle and suicidal behaviour. METHOD: A systematic search of major relevant databases was performed using appropriate search terms. RESULTS: Forty-four relevant studies were identified in total, 13 pertaining to suicide, two pertaining to both attempted and completed suicide, 23 to suicide attempts, three to suicide attempts in those suffering from the premenstrual syndrome (PMS), three to suicidal ideation and two to repetitive self-harming behaviours. A variety of methodologies were used in these studies and there were notable differences in the conclusions reached. Studies with better methodology suggest that a positive relationship exists between aspects of the menstrual cycle and non-fatal suicidal behaviour. Such behaviour appears to be more common in those phases of the menstrual cycle when oestrogen levels are lowest (the late luteal and follicular phases), and in those suffering from PMS. CONCLUSIONS: There appears to be an association between the menstrual cycle and non-fatal suicidal behaviours. Interaction between oestrogen and the serotonergic system may provide a possible mechanism.