Table 1.

Premenstrual symptom frequency by age group

Symptom	Total		18–27		28–37		38–47		48–55		p value
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Cravings	194,755	85.28	131,380	84.46	50,944	86.84	11,565	87.78	866	87.56	< 2.2e − 16*
Mood swings, anxiety	134,485	64.18	91,160	64.09	34,840	64.47	7,908	64.12	577	61.65	0.1569
Fatigue	125,018	57.30	80,602	54.37	35,558	63.26	8,237	64.64	621	64.82	< 2.2e − 16*
Appetite increase	109,245	48.40	71,117	46.31	30,674	52.81	6,941	53	513	52.45	< 2.2e − 16*
Breast sensations	99,963	46.14	66,110	44.91	26,903	48.2	6,478	51.13	472	49.42	< 2.2e − 16*
Weight gain	89,740	39.04	53,090	33.9	28,589	48.44	7,465	56.36	596	60.14	< 2.2e − 16*
Swelling	86,197	38.62	52,197	34.4	26,536	46.13	6,923	53.31	541	55.72	< 2.2e − 16*
Constipation/diarrhea	79,794	36.00	51,588	34.24	22,624	39.6	5,182	40.13	400	41.28	< 2.2e − 16*
Abdominal spasms	77,067	33.26	53,477	33.87	19,175	32.24	4,143	31.09	272	27.23	< 2.2e − 16*
Headaches	62,260	28.91	40,807	27.9	16,788	30.25	4,324	34.29	341	35.89	< 2.2e − 16*
Sleep changes	39,587	18.77	25,155	17.58	11,052	20.31	3,093	24.92	287	30.56	< 2.2e − 16*
Absentminded	38,282	18.09	23,704	16.51	11,318	20.72	2,989	24	271	28.83	< 2.2e − 16*
Sweating, hot flashes	37,017	17.28	24,130	16.59	9,866	17.87	2,773	22.09	248	26.11	< 2.2e − 16*
Low libido	20,566	9.66	10,623	7.35	7,659	13.94	2,099	16.79	185	19.56	< 2.2e − 16*
Hair changes	18,696	8.53	11,770	7.9	5,376	9.53	1,411	11.03	139	14.46	< 2.2e − 16*
Skin rashes	13,659	6.20	8,120	5.42	4,482	7.89	986	7.67	71	7.37	< 2.2e − 16*
Interference	59,782	28.61	39,546	27.87	15,993	29.71	3,970	32.31	273	29.17

Number (%) of participants reporting symptoms every menstrual cycle by age group. P values < 0.05 were considered significant (*). P values refer to differences between the age groups