Menstrual pain and depression are linked genetically

A New Study Proposes a Genetic Link Between Period Pain and Depression

For the study, researchers analyzed genetic data for around 600,000 individuals of European descent and 8,000 people from East Asia. They identified several genes that seem to play a role in both depression and menstrual pain, according to findings published in Briefings in Bioinformatics.

The Connection Between Depression and Menstrual Pain

Individuals with depression are 51% more likely to experience menstrual pain, the study found. Specifically, people with depression and insomnia, a common symptom of the mood disorder, were three times more likely to suffer from period pain than people without depression.

How Hormonal Changes Affect the Body’s Pain Response

“In individuals with depression, changes in hormone levels and neurotransmitters can affect how the body processes pain,” says senior study author John Moraros, MD, PhD, a professor and dean of the School of Science at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in China. “This can lead to women experiencing more severe menstrual cramps.”

The Link Between Depression and Menstrual Cramps

However, the study did not find an increased risk of developing depression among people who experience severe menstrual pain, also called dysmenorrhea.

How Depression and Menstrual Cramps Are Connected

“The lack of a causal link from period pain to depression may stem from how these conditions naturally co-occur,” explains Dr. Moraros. “Dysmenorrhea can cause anxiety and distress, but it does not seem to have as significant an impact on mental health as depression does on physical symptoms.”

Limitations of the Study

One limitation of the study is that researchers only looked at potential genetic associations between depression and period pain, and not at other factors that could play a role in these experiences, such as stress levels, exercise habits, or underlying medical conditions. It also was not a controlled study designed to prove whether or how depression could directly cause period pain or how dysmenorrhea could directly cause depression.

Findings in Contrast with Other Research

The findings also differ from another recent study. One analysis of pooled data from 10 studies with about 4,700 participants found that people with dysmenorrhea were 72% more likely to develop depression than those without period pain.

How to Alleviate Period Pain When You Have Depression

Instead, the new findings suggest that people with depression or sleep problems may be able to reduce period pain by taking steps to improve their mental health and sleep, says Omar Gammoh, PhD, an assistant professor of pharmacology at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan, who wasn’t involved in the new study.

“Improving depression and sleep could result in lower severity of period pain in a large portion of females,” Dr. Gammoh says. This could include a range of interventions, such as talk therapy, peer support groups, lifestyle changes, or medication, Gammoh adds.