Relationship between menstrual cycle and cognitive functions in women with primary dysmenorrhea

Authors

UFUK ATLIHANFollow
MELTEM DURAKLI ULUKÖKFollow
ONUR YAVUZFollow

Abstract

Background/aim: To evaluate the relationship between the change in pain intensity over days in the menstrual-cycle and cognitive functions in females having primary dysmenorrhea.Materials and Methods: One hundred thirty-four females with primary dysmenorrhea who were admitted to our hospital from January 2021 to November 2023 were assessed. Of these participants, 46 individuals who subjectively stated that their cognitive functions were affected, for whom neurology consultation was requested, and for whom patient data were available, were included in the study.Results: Significant decrease was seen in phonemic fluency and semantic fluency in patients who were evaluated on the 3rd day of menstrual follow-up (p<0.001-and-p<0.001, respectively). Significant decrease was observed in forward-digit span and backward-digit-span scores in patients who were evaluated on the 3rd day of menstrual follow-up (p< 0.001 and p< 0.001, respectively). A significant decrease was seen in forward-digit-span and backward-digit-span scores in patients who were evaluated on the most painful day of menstrual follow-up (p< 0.001 and p< 0.001, -respectively). Significant decrease in logical memory subtest WMS-R in patients who were evaluated on the most painful day of menstrual follow-up (p< 0.001).Conclusion: Consistent with the literature, we found strong evidence showing a negative correlation between dysmenorrhea and cognitive function. Future prospective, larger sample-size studies comparing cognitive function in females with and without dysmenorrhea at various stages of the menstrual-cycle are needed.

Author ORCID Identifier

UFUK ATLIHAN: 0000-0002-2109-1373

MELTEM DURAKLI ULUKÖK: 0000-0002-0985-0103

ONUR YAVUZ: 0000-0003-3716-2145

DOI

10.55730/1300-0144.5966

Keywords

Cognitive functions, menstrual cycle, primary dysmenorrhea

First Page

258

Last Page

264

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

ATLIHAN, UFUK; DURAKLI ULUKÖK, MELTEM; and YAVUZ, ONUR (2025) "Relationship between menstrual cycle and cognitive functions in women with primary dysmenorrhea," Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences: Vol. 55: No. 1, Article 30. https://doi.org/10.55730/1300-0144.5966
Available at: https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/medical/vol55/iss1/30