The Relationship between Premenstrual Syndrome and Women’s Marital Satisfaction

Background aim: Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) includes different symptoms that appear periodically throughout the luteal phase of the menstrual period. The PMS has not been properly investigated as an influencing factor of marital satisfaction in Iran. Thus the purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between PMS and its symptoms with women s marital satisfaction. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 246 women referred to health centers in Yazd, Iran who selected using random sampling. The data were collected through the Index of Marital Satisfaction and Premenstrual Syndrome Screening Tool and analyzed in SPSS software (version 18) using the Chi-Square test. Results: Somatic symptom disorders including “mastalgia, headache, muscle pain, arthritis, bloating, and weight gain” (%22.8) and also anger and irritability (%21.5) obtained the highest frequency in terms of syndrome frequency. With regard to the effect of symptoms on the daily life, the strongest impact was on the relationship with the family (%10.6). The results showed that the levels of marital dissatisfaction among women with PMS (P=0.013) were higher, compared to the non-affected population. Conclusion: Premenstrual syndrome could disrupt family relationship leading to marital dissatisfaction. Therefore, women and their families are required to receive appropriate training for better communication in this period.