Food & Nutrition

Arab Journal of Food & Nutrition
10. Study of the Association between the Premenstrual Syndrome and Certain
Nutritional and Biological Factors and the Effect of Nutrition Counseling on the
Alleviation of Symptoms of the Syndrome in a Group of Women in Jordan (1993)
Lana Kalemat\ University of Jordan
Supervisor: Dr. Mousa Numan Ahmed
Co-Supervisor: Dr.Foteh Khamis
The prevalence of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and its association with certain
nutritional and biological factors was studied in a sample of 203 regularly
menstruating females aged (14-49 years) using a precoded questionnaire. The
incidence of types A, H, C and D in the studied sample was 39%, 29%, 7.4% and 6.4%
respectively; however, 15% of the subjects were not diagnosed as PMS while 2.5%
had the combination of all PMS subtypes. Using a chisquare test, a significant
association (P0.05)
was found between PMS types and parity, fat percent, body mass index, use of oral
contraceptives or exercise.
Dietary intakes of 15 of the above mentioned PMS subjects aged (18-21 years)
were assessed using a 3 day dietary intake record and were analyzed for selected
macro and micronutrient in both pre- (days 23-25) and post- (in days 4-10) menstrual
phases. Compared with postmenstrual dietary intakes, premenstrual dietary intakes of
the sample were slightly but not significantly higher in carbohydrates, fat, sugar,
protein, energy, fiber, calcium, phosphorous, sodium, vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin
B2, niacin, and were significantly higher (P