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Depression may cause period pain, suggests study

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</span><a href="/health/body-and-mind/">Body and Mind</a></p></nav> <section class="article-container cols-4 md-cols-1 cols-gap-1 padding-bottom-4"> <article class="col col-span-3 post-317050 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-body-and-mind category-biology category-science category-health category-medicine category-news tag-depression tag-menstruation tag-mental-health tag-pain tag-womens-health"> <header class="rows rows-gap"> <h1 class="entry-title row">Depression may cause period pain, suggests study</h1> <div class="row primary-image has-featured-image " data-featured-image="1200-16-GettyImages-1448250348.jpg"> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content cols-6 md-cols-1 cols-gap-1 margin-top-1"> <div class="content-left-sidebar cols-1 col"> <section class="contributors md-cols-1 rows-gap"> <div class="row post-date"> <span class="published-date">November 27, 2024</span> </div> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/ellen-phiddian/" class="author row md-hide"> <img src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA0NTAgNDM2IiB3aWR0aD0iNDUwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjQzNiIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjElMkYwMiUyRkVsbGVuLXNtYWxsLmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSI0NTAiIGRhdGEtaD0iNDM2IiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=" data-spai="1" alt="Ellen Phiddian" width="200" /><noscript data-spai="1"><img src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Ellen-small.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Ellen Phiddian" width="200" /></noscript> <div class="bio"> <h3>Ellen Phiddian</h3> <p>Cosmos science journalist</p> </div> </a> <div id="author-name" class="hide"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/ellen-phiddian/" class="bio"> By Ellen Phiddian </a> </div> <div class="favourite__wrapper row cols"> <button class="showDialog simplefavorite-button" aria-label="Favourite button"> </button> </div> </section> </div> <div class="primary-content cols-1 col-span-5 col"> <div class="flexible-content "> <div class="copy"> <p>Researchers know there’s a <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/body-and-mind/women-with-pmds-more-likely-to-develop-perinatal-depression/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">connection</a> between menstruation and mental health, but it’s a complicated one – with the <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/period-pain-and-alcohol-may-be-linked/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cause and effect</a> between various conditions poorly defined.</p> <p>A genetic study has found that depression is linked to a higher risk of period pain.</p> <p>According to the study, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bib/bbae589" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> in <em>Briefings in Bioinformatics,</em> depression is the culprit: it’s causing the increased pain.</p> <p>The researchers studied the genomes and medical records of 572,484 European people, and 8,316 Asian people, taken from various biomedical databases.</p> <p>“We used a specialised technique called Mendelian randomisation to analyse genetic variation and identify specific genes that may mediate the effect of depression on menstrual pain,” says lead author Shuhe Liu, a PhD student at Xi’an Jiaotong – Liverpool University, China.</p> <p>Both study groups had a strong link between depression and period pain (dysmenorrhea).</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i0p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <p>&#8220;Our findings provide preliminary evidence that depression may be a cause, rather than a consequence, of dysmenorrhea as we did not find evidence that period pain increased the risk of depression,” says Liu.</p> <p>The researchers found some key genes and associated proteins in the populations that were strongly linked to both depression and period pain. This suggests there could be some common biological pathways between the conditions.</p> <div class="in-content-area related-box-wrapper content-third content-right margin-bottom-1"> <div class="gradient-title">Read More</div> <ul class="related-box article-listing"> <li class="cols"> <div class="article article-post"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/period-pain-and-alcohol-may-be-linked/" class="thumbnail ar-16-9" aria-label="Article link"> <span data-spai-bg-on="1" class="image" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxNDQwIDYxMyIgd2lkdGg9IjE0NDAiIGhlaWdodD0iNjEzIiBkYXRhLXU9Imh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGY29zbW9zbWFnYXppbmUuY29tJTJGd3AtY29udGVudCUyRnVwbG9hZHMlMkYyMDIwJTJGMDIlMkYxODA0MjUtcG1zLWZ1bGwtMTQ0MHg2MTMuanBnIiBkYXRhLXc9IjE0NDAiIGRhdGEtaD0iNjEzIiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=)"></span> </a> <div class="article-content has-very-light-grey-background-color"> <a href="/health/"> <span class="category health-color"> Health </span> </a> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/period-pain-and-alcohol-may-be-linked/"> <h3>Period pain and alcohol linked</h3> </a> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <p>Another factor was sleep: the researchers found that poor sleep was connected to both conditions.</p> <p>&#8220;We found that increased sleep disturbances could exacerbate menstrual pain. Addressing sleep issues may therefore be crucial in managing both conditions,” says Liu.</p> <a href="https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/OP59" class="newsletter-cta" data-device="mobile"> <img decoding="async" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMDAgMjUwIiB3aWR0aD0iMzAwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjQlMkYwMyUyRldlZWtseS1DYXRjaHVwLTMwMHgyNTAtMS5wbmciIGRhdGEtdz0iMzAwIiBkYXRhLWg9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+" data-spai="1" alt="Newsletter" title="depression may cause period pain, suggests study 1"><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Weekly-Catchup-300x250-1.png" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Newsletter" title="depression may cause period pain, suggests study 1"></noscript> </a> <p>“However, more research is required to understand the intricate links between these factors.”</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i1p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <p>Women are more likely to be <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/depression-in-women" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">diagnosed with depression</a> than men, and – according to the researchers – are particularly vulnerable during the reproductive years.</p> <p>&#8220;Mental disorders are often not considered when treating conditions such as period pain,” says Liu.</p> <p>“Our findings emphasise the importance of mental health screening for people who suffer from severe menstrual pain. We hope this can lead to more personalised treatment options, and improved healthcare, and reduce the stigma surrounding the conditions.”</p> <p>The researchers believe that, more work needs to be done to investigate the genes they found, as well as larger studies and experiments that can validate their results.</p> <p>&#8220;Our results provide evidence of a link between our neurological systems and the rest of the body,” says Liu.</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i2p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <p>“By exploring and understanding these relationships better, we can make a real difference to the millions of people experiencing period pain and mental health issues.&#8221;</p> <p><em>Update, 29 November: We have changed the headline for this article after receiving feedback that the previous headline may have been misleading. </em></p> <div style><a href="https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/Q0f2"><p align="center"><img decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-198773" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA4MzcgMjU5IiB3aWR0aD0iODM3IiBoZWlnaHQ9IjI1OSIgZGF0YS11PSJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRmNvc21vc21hZ2F6aW5lLmNvbSUyRndwLWNvbnRlbnQlMkZ1cGxvYWRzJTJGMjAyNCUyRjA5JTJGVHJhdmVsLXdpdGgtc2NpZW50aXN0cy1lbWJlZF83Mjh4MjI1LXYxLmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSI4MzciIGRhdGEtaD0iMjU5IiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=" data-spai="1" alt="Buy the cosmos emag now" width="600" height="154" title="depression may cause period pain, suggests study 2"><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-198773" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Travel-with-scientists-embed_728x225-v1.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Buy the cosmos emag now" width="600" height="154" title="depression may cause period pain, suggests study 2"></noscript></p></a></div> <!-- Start of tracking content syndication. 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Please do not remove this section as it allows us to preserve our SEO for this article --> <p>Originally published by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" style="font-style:italic;">Cosmos</a> as <a title="Depression may cause period pain, suggests study" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/body-and-mind/depression-period-pain/" id="cosmos-post-url">Depression may cause period pain, suggests study</a></p> <!-- End of Link back to original article. --> </div> <div class="article-sharing"> <ul class="cols"> <li> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcosmosmagazine.com%2Fhealth%2Fbody-and-mind%2Fdepression-period-pain%2F" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="Share on Facebook" onclick="window.open('https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcosmosmagazine.com%2Fhealth%2Fbody-and-mind%2Fdepression-period-pain%2F'); return false;" class="primary-svg-fill-hover"> <svg width="30" height="30"> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <circle 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