Are premenstrual syndrome and aggression related to body mass index in adolescents?

Objective: This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the relationship between premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and aggression during adolescence with body mass index (BMI), which is a topic not yet investigated in the literature.

Patients And Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,450 adolescents aged 12-18 years, who applied to the Pediatric Adolescent Outpatient Clinic and voluntarily agreed to participate in the study. Anthropometric measurements of the adolescents were taken and the Premenstrual Syndrome Scale and Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire were administered to the adolescents. It was discovered that all the adolescents participating in the study had PMS.

Results: It was determined that as the levels of PMS were elevated, physical aggression, hostility, anger and verbal aggression gradually increased. Additionally, this increase was statistically significant (p<0.001). It was further discovered that there were statistically significant differences between the BMI classifications of the adolescents and PMS, physical aggression, hostility, anger and verbal aggression statuses (p<0.001). Accordingly, it was determined that as the BMI values of the adolescents increased, PMS and aggressive attitude levels increased.

Conclusions: This study is the first in the literature to examine the relationship between PMS and aggression, and BMI in adolescents. Within this framework, it was determined that PMS frequency and aggression levels were high in overweight/obese adolescents. Accordingly, it is predicted that both PMS and aggression levels can decrease with healthy body weight in adolescents.