PMT LINKED TO GENES

Women who suffer from severe premenstrual tension may have a genetic sensitivity to changing levels of the female sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone. Between 2% and 5% of women experience disabling irritability, sadness and anxiety in the days before their menstrual period. Now, researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health in the US have found a gene complex that increases their sensitivity to the normal changes in sex hormones that occur during the menstrual cycle.