Objective: Menstruation is a physiological event that starts with adolescence and continues until menopause and covers about 35-40 years of a woman’s life. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a heterogeneous disorder including physical, cognitive, affective and behavioral symptoms. At present, the number of women complaining of PMS constantly increases. Premenstrual Syndrome may inşuence the lives, daily activities and academic achievement of young girls to an important extent. As far as we know, there is no study in our country evaluating the relation between PMS and alexithymia. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relation between PMS and alexithymia, the prevalence of PMS and risk factors associated with the severity of PMS.
Method: 308 female students, whose ages ranged between 19-25 (20,7±1,9), were included in the study. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and Premenstrual Assessment Form (PAF).
Results: Prevalence of PMS in our sample was 66.6%. PMS was found at higher rates in those who smoke (p=0.049), have history of psychiatric treatment (p=0.049), and whose mother or sister has PMS symptoms (p=0,017). PMS group showed higher scores on all rating scales of Toronto Alexithymia Scale and its three factors (p<0.05), when we divided all participants into two groups, termed alexithymic (who scored 61 or more on TAS) and Non-alexithymic, Alexithymic group had higher scores on almost all PAF subscales (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Alexithymia reşects cognitive deficits in processing emotions because alexithymic individuals are psychologically poorly equipped. Premenstrual syndrome is a heterogeneous disorder including physical, cognitive, affective and behavioral symptoms. Alexithymia also has cognitive and affective factors. The etiology and pathophysiology of PMS remain unknown. Further studies need to determine the probable role of alexithymia in the pathogenesis of PMS.