Mood, sexuality, oral contraceptives and the menstrual cycle
Warner, P.; Bancroft, J.
Journal of Psychosomatic Research 32(4-5): 417-427
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0022-3999 PMID: 3236269 DOI: 10.1016/0022-3999(88)90025-6Document Number: 360299
4112 women completed a retrospective questionnaire indicating when during their last menstrual cycle they felt their well-being and sexual interest to be at their best and worst. The commonest pattern was for well-being to be lowest during the premenstrual and highest during the postmenstural week. Sexual interest was strongly associated with well-being, suggesting that variations of well-being have a powerful effect on sexuality in the majority of women. Oral contraceptive users, though broadly similar in their reported pattern, were less likely to show peaks and troughs of well-being and highs and lows of sexual interest. This was most evident in the subgroup of monophasic pill users who showed the least tendency to variations in both well-being and sexual interest, and a greater tendency to show either peaks or troughs of well-being during menstruation. Triphasic pill users were intermediate between monophasic and non-pill users.