ArticleBMC women's health2026
Circadian rhythm entrainment factors and premenstrual syndrome: a cross-sectional study of the roles of light exposure, exercise, and meal timing.
Article in BMC women's health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPremenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common condition affecting women, involving physical and emotional symptoms. Since circadian rhythms may be disrupted during the premenstrual phase, regulating them could alleviate PMS. The purpose of this study was to determine how lifestyle factors (light exposure, exercise, and food intake) related to circadian rhythm entrainment contribute to PMS severity based on chronotype.
methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in Japanese women aged 20–49 years. PMS severity was assessed using the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire. Lifestyle habits related to circadian entrainment were also surveyed. The final sample comprised 564 women (249 morning types and 315 evening types). Multiple regression analysis was performed with PMS score as the objective variables and lifestyle related to circadian rhythm as the independent variables. Two models addressed multicollinearity: Model 1 included natural light exposure, screen-time after sunset, and first meal timing; Model 2 included screen-time, exercise, and meal timing. Ethical approval was obtained.
resultsAmong the 564 women, the numbers of reports of mild or worse PMS symptoms, were 526 (93.3%) for pain, 510 (90.4%) for water retention, 265 (47.0%) for autonomic reactions, and 482 (85.5%) for negative affect, many experienced PMS symptoms. For morning types, 4 or more hours of screen-time after sunset was associated significantly with higher negative affect scores (Model༑;β = 1.46; 95% CI, 0.09 to 2.83; p = 0.037), (Model2༛β = 1.43; 95% CI, 0.06 to 2.80; p = 0.040). For evening types, less than 2 h of daytime light exposure was associated with increased negative affect (β = 0.91; 95% CI, 0.15 to 1.66; p = 0.019) and water retention (β = 0.42; 95% CI, 0.05 to 0.79; p = 0.026). Similarly, exercise was other associated with increased water retention (β = 0.50; 95% CI, 0.14 to 0.86; p = 0.007). Meal timing was not significantly associated with any entrainment factors.
conclusionsThese findings suggest that circadian rhythm entrainment through appropriate light exposure and exercise timing can alleviate PMS. The consideration of individuals’ chronotypes may enhance the effectiveness of lifestyle-based interventions for PMS relief.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.