Premenstrual disorders linked to higher suicide risk in women

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-05-29 01:00

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***This media release contains information some readers may find distressing as it refers to data about mental health, suicide and self-harm. If you or anyone you know needs help, support is available now. Call Lifeline (Aus) on 131 114 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, or Lifeline (NZ) on 0800 543 354. ***

Women diagnosed with serious mental or physical symptoms ahead of their periods have a higher risk of dying by suicide, according to a Swedish study. The researchers looked at death data among a group of nearly 70,000 women with a diagnosed premenstrual disorder and compared it to over 300,000 unaffected women of similar demographics. Looking for differences in deaths after an average of six years, the researchers say there were no differences in the rate of dying prematurely from any cause, however, there was an increased risk of death by suicide among the women with premenstrual disorders, and a higher risk of death by any cause among women who were diagnosed before age 25 that the researchers say is not entirely explained by the heightened suicide risk.