A groundbreaking study conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago has shed light on the connection between the menstrual cycle and suicidal thoughts among female patients with a history of suicidality.
This longitudinal study is the first of its kind to track the fluctuations in suicidal thoughts and related symptoms throughout the menstrual cycle, providing valuable insights for clinicians.
The research, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, offers guidance on when healthcare providers should focus their interventions with patients at risk of suicide, establishing the menstrual cycle as one of the few predictable recurring risk factors.
Dr. Tory Eisenlohr-Moul, associate professor of psychiatry at UIC and the senior author of the study, highlighted the significance of this research.
She noted, “This study establishes that the menstrual cycle can affect many people who have suicidal thoughts, which makes it one of the few predictable recurring risk factors that have been identified for detecting when a suicide attempt might occur.”
The study involved 119 patients who completed a daily survey to track suicidal thoughts and other mental health symptoms over at least one menstrual cycle.
This unique design allowed researchers to collect detailed data on how patients’ mental health changed throughout their cycle, providing more accurate insights than previous studies that relied on a single time point after a suicide attempt.
Past research had identified a pattern where suicide attempts increased in the days just before or after the onset of menstruation, known as the “perimenstrual” phase.
The UIC study replicated this pattern, revealing that during this phase, suicidal ideation was more severe, and suicidal planning was more likely to occur compared to other phases of the cycle.
Moreover, the daily data enabled researchers to explore individual differences in how the menstrual cycle affected symptoms and suicidality.
Notably, not all individuals responded the same way to hormonal fluctuations, emphasizing the importance of personalized care.
The study found that most patients reported elevated psychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and hopelessness in the premenstrual and early menstrual phases.
Emotional changes occurred at different times during the cycle for some individuals, and specific psychiatric symptoms varied among patients alongside suicidal thoughts.
This research aligns with the broader focus of Dr. Eisenlohr-Moul’s CLEAR lab, which also investigates premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and its association with an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
Studies led by Dr. Eisenlohr-Moul have suggested that some individuals may have heightened sensitivity to reproductive hormones like estrogen and progesterone, which contribute to PMDD symptoms.
Similar dynamics of hormone sensitivity may influence the link between the menstrual cycle and suicidal thoughts in individuals without PMDD.
The study’s authors suggest that patients could track their mental health symptoms throughout their cycle, enabling clinicians to make personalized recommendations for their care.
By developing individual prediction models, healthcare providers can better understand whether the menstrual cycle affects a specific patient and tailor interventions accordingly.
This research represents a significant step towards improving the understanding of how the menstrual cycle influences suicidal thoughts and mental health, with the ultimate goal of preventing suicide attempts and providing more effective care for at-risk individuals.
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The research findings can be found in American Journal of Psychiatry.
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