Background

Abuse in early life stages has been proposed as an etiological risk factor for developing menstrually-related mood disorders (MRMDs).

Objetive

To evaluate whether there is a relation between the occurrence of physical and/or sexual violence in childhood and/or adolescence and the development of MRMDs in adulthood.

Method

A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect, with the route (“Premenstrual Syndrome”[Mesh]) OR (“Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder”[MeSH]) AND (“Violence”[Mesh]) / (“menstrually-related mood disorders” AND “abuse”). Fifty-four articles were initially reviewed and 32 were excluded based on the criteria. Twenty-two articles were thoroughly reviewed. Finally, five articles (publication years 2014, 2013, 2012, 2007, and 2003) were included in the systematic review and submitted to a meta-analysis.

Results

Results indicate that having been exposed to physical and/or sexual violence in childhood and/or adolescence increases 1.99 times the risk of experiencing MRMDs in adulthood in comparison with women who did not experience that type of violence (odds ratio [OR] = 1.99; 95% confidence interval [1.58, 2.51]).

Discussion and conclusion

The present work provides evidence that a woman who experienced violence through physical and/or sexual abuse during childhood and/or adolescence has a greater risk of developing MRMDs in adulthood.

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