Diet quality in adolescents with premenstrual syndrome: A cross‐sectional study.

Aim: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a complex of symptoms that can seriously affect the quality of life in women. It has been suggested that the nutritional status of adult women may influence the presence and/or severity of PMS symptoms. However, little is known about this association in adolescents. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between diet quality and the presence/severity of PMS symptoms in adolescents. Methods: A case‐control study of 272 female students, aged 13–18 years, was conducted in a high school. PMS was diagnosed and the symptoms were recorded using Premenstrual Syndrome Scale (PMSS)‐2006 in 2 consecutive months. Dietary intake was assessed with 24‐hour‐dietary intake recall method and Healthy Eating Index‐2010 (HEI‐2010) score was calculated as an indicator of diet quality. Anthropometric measurements, including body weight, height, waist circumference and hip circumference were taken. Results: PMS was diagnosed in 56.9% of the study sample. The mean HEI‐2010 score was significantly lower in the PMS group (47.5 ± 23.95) when compared to the control group (53.5 ± 20.98), P = 0.034. The PMS symptoms, anxiety (P = 0.009), depressive feelings (P = 0.016) and changes in sleeping pattern (P = 0.000) were associated with lower diet quality scores in the PMS group. No significant difference in anthropometric measurements was observed between the groups. Conclusions: The present study suggested that adolescents with a high‐quality diet might experience depressive feelings, anxiety or changes in sleeping less when compared to those with a low quality diet. Therefore, the causal relationship between diet quality and presence/severity of PMS should be investigated in further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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