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The study was conducted as part of a long term partnership with the female health, fertility and period-tracking app, CLUE. The findings, published in Evolution Medicine & Public Health, suggest that the presence of an undiagnosed STI might aggravate the negative premenstrual experience.
Despite being known to have an anti-social effect on women’s lives, altering their moods, energy levels, eating habits and even sex drive, periods are not recognised as a scientific factor in the study of female health. However, since some STI infections are asymptomatic, for instance 70% of people diagnosed with Chlamydia are unaware of it, and can lead to fertility issues, the study authors caution that these results are significant, and that reproductive health needs to be taken more seriously by both the scientific community and women in general.