Abstract

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a psychological and somatic disorder known since centuries. Innumerable studies were and are being done. Many theories have been proposed in its etiology from gonadal hormones to neurotransmitters, micronutrients and many others. Autonomic nervous system disturbances have also been proposed to have an effect on the premenstrual symptomatology. Still there is no consensus on its definitive diagnosis or treatment, as there are no physical signs or symptoms or any laboratory test for the diagnosis. Present study is intended to correlate serum levels of magnesium, a micronutrient and heart rate and blood pressure as autonomic nervous system functions in PMS. Our study included 50 with and 50 without PMS, a total of 100 subjects,selected by judgement sampling . Serum magnesium levels were measured by the Calmagite method (Crest Biosystems). Heart rate and blood pressure were measured by clinical method using mercury sphygmomanometer and stethoscope. The results were subjected to statistical methods,spss v16. There was a significant decrease in serum levels of magnesium during premenstrual phase of PMS subjects and an increase in heart rate and blood pressure showing a correlation of decreased serum magnesium and autonomic function.