If you've ever felt like PMDD or PMS makes it harder to function at work, this study backs up what many people already know from lived experience. Researchers in Iran surveyed 358 working women — teachers and factory workers — and found that about one-third had moderate-to-severe premenstrual disorders. Among those, women with PMDD experienced the greatest difficulties with work productivity, the ability to carry out daily tasks, and overall work functioning.
The numbers were striking. Women with premenstrual disorders scored nearly three times worse on work productivity measures compared to those without. Their ability to handle everyday activities was also significantly reduced. Importantly, these differences held up even after the researchers accounted for things like age, weight, work experience, and medication use.
An interesting finding was that teachers were more affected than factory workers — 41% of teachers had premenstrual disorders compared to about 25% of factory workers. The researchers suggest this may be linked to higher job stress, more complex responsibilities, and the mental demands of teaching. The study also found that women who didn't exercise regularly were more likely to have premenstrual disorders, which aligns with other research suggesting physical activity may help ease symptoms.
While the study can't prove that premenstrual disorders directly cause work problems (it looked at one point in time rather than tracking women over months), it adds to a growing body of evidence that PMDD and PMS have real, measurable effects on work life. The researchers call for greater awareness among employers and workplace health professionals, and for support programs that help working women manage their symptoms.
Key findings
- Among 358 working women, 33.8% (121) had premenstrual disorders: 27.4% with PMS and 6.4% with PMDD
- Prevalence of premenstrual disorders was significantly higher in teachers (41.0%) than factory workers (24.7%) (p = 0.002)
- Women with premenstrual disorders had significantly worse work productivity (3.4 ± 2.4 vs. 1.2 ± 1.8), ability to perform daily activities (4.2 ± 2.5 vs. 2.0 ± 2.3), and functional work capacity (3.8 ± 2.3 vs. 6.4 ± 1.8) compared to those without (all p < 0.001)
- PMDD had the worst negative impact on all three work outcomes compared to PMS and non-PMS groups (p < 0.001)
- Irregular exercise or lack of exercise was significantly more prevalent in the PMS group than the non-PMS group (p = 0.01)
- After adjusting for confounders (age, BMI, work experience, marital status, etc.), PMS status remained significantly associated with worse work productivity, daily activity performance, and functional work capacity (all p < 0.001)
Methods, briefly
Cross-sectional study of N=358 working women (158 pistachio sorting factory workers and 200 teachers) in Yazd, Iran, from July 2019 to January 2020. Census sampling was used for factory workers and cluster sampling for teachers. Four questionnaires were administered by a trained female doctor: demographics, the Persian premenstrual symptom screening tool, a modified work productivity and activity impairment questionnaire, and a functional work capacity questionnaire. Women with endometriosis, uterine tumors, depression, anxiety, IBD, pregnancy, breastfeeding, or postmenopausal status were excluded. Statistical analysis included t-tests, Mann-Whitney tests, Chi-square/Fisher's exact tests, linear regression, and ANOVA.
Limitations to keep in mind
- Cross-sectional design prevents establishing causal relationships
- PMS and PMDD were identified retrospectively, introducing potential recall bias
- Work impact was assessed using self-reported measures rather than objective productivity data
- Only two occupational groups studied (teachers and factory workers), limiting generalizability
- Mild PMS was grouped with non-PMS, which may underestimate effects across the full spectrum
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