April 23, 2018

expert reaction to systematic review and meta-analysis on alcohol intake and premenstrual syndrome

A systematic review and meta-analysis examines the role of alcohol in the occurrence of PMS, published in BMJ Open.

Dr Nick Panay, Consultant Gynaecologist, Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and Director of Hormone Health at 92 Harley Street, said:

“I welcome any good quality research which endeavours to discover the factors involved in the causation and exacerbation of PMS. The finding that there is a potential causal association of alcohol consumption with PMS is interesting and not surprising given the impact of alcohol on hormones and neurotransmitters.

“This systematic review and meta-analysis of pre-existing PMS research appears to have been well conducted with a reasonable attempt made to control for confounding variables (such as dietary aspects, smoking, lifestyle, stress, type of PMS e.g. PMDD); however it is limited in its usefulness by the studies which have been included, a number of which were not designed to study the impact of alcohol consumption on PMS as a primary outcome measure; it is therefore essential that further research is conducted to confirm the findings.”

* ‘Premenstrual syndrome and alcohol consumption: a systematic review and meta-analysis’ by María del Mar Fernández et al. will be published in BMJ Open on Monday 23^rd April 2018. 

Declared interests

Dr Nick Panay: I am the Chairman of NAPS (National Association for Premenstrual Syndrome) www.pms.org.uk