Abstract:
The aim of this work has been to explore the distribution of the psychological and physical symptoms along the menstrual cycle, to assess the possible variations in everyday lifestyle, and their relationship with the symptoms. The study was performed on a non-clinical sample of intentionally selected 46 women between the ages of 17 and 31 (mean: 21.93; SD: 2.98) who were students at the National University of San Luis. The symptoms were analyzed by using the Daily Symptom Calendar (Frackiewicz & Shiovitz, 2001), and the regularity of activities was measured with the SRM-5 by Monk, Frank, Potts & Kupfer (2002). Physical and psychological symptoms were distributed differently according to the phase of the cycle, and more intensely in perimenstrual (from 3 days before menstruation to 3 days after it), and menstrual phases. The participants presented a high regularity in their lifestyles, and the variations of the symptoms along the cycle were not associated with changes in the regularity of women’s lifestyle. Hence, the typical symptoms of the cycle would not affect habitual activities, possibly because they are neither intense enough, nor associated with physical disorders. Therefore, we assume that these symptoms are characteristic of normal female cyclicity.