Crying, oral contraceptive use and the menstrual cycle

Abstract

Background: Crying, a complex neurobiological behavior with psychosocial and communication features, has been little studied in relationship to the menstrual cycle.

Methods: In the Mood and Daily Life study (MiDL), a community sample of Canadian women aged 18-43 years, n=76, recorded crying proneness and crying frequency daily for six months along with menstrual cycle phase information.

Results: Crying proneness was most likely during the premenstruum, a little less likely during menses and least likely during the mid-cycle phase, with statistically significant differences although the magnitude of these differences were small. By contrast, actual crying did not differ between the three menstrual cycle phases. Oral contraceptive use did not alter the relationship between menstrual cycle phase and either crying variable. A wide range of menstrual cycle phase - crying proneness patterns were seen with visual inspection of the individual women's line graphs.

Limitations: timing of ovulation was not ascertained. Using a three phase menstrual cycle division precluded separate late follicular and early luteal data analysis. The sample size was inadequate for a robust statistical test of actual crying.

Conclusions: reproductive aged women as a group report feeling more like crying premenstrually but may not actually cry more during this menstrual cycle phase. Individual patterns vary substantially. Oral contraceptive use did not affect these relationships. Suggestions for future research are included.