Recreational Physical Activity and Premenstrual Syndrome in Young Adult Women: A Cross-Sectional Study.

It is estimated that up to 75% of premenopausal women experience at least one premenstrual symptom and 8-20% meet clinical criteria for premenstrual syndrome. Premenstrual syndrome substantially reduces quality of life for many women of reproductive age, with pharmaceutical treatments having limited efficacy and substantial side effects. Physical activity has been recommended as a method of reducing menstrual symptom severity. However, this recommendation is based on relatively little evidence, and the relationship between physical activity, premenstrual symptoms, and premenstrual syndrome remains unclear.We evaluated the relationship between physical activity and premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual symptoms among 414 women aged 18-31. Usual premenstrual symptom experience was assessed with a modified version of the Calendar of Premenstrual Experiences. Total, physical, and affective premenstrual symptom scores were calculated for all participants. Eighty women met criteria for moderate-to-severe premenstrual syndrome, while 89 met control criteria. Physical activity, along with dietary and lifestyle factors, was assessed by self-report.Physical activity was not significantly associated with total, affective, or physical premenstrual symptom score. Compared to the women with the lowest activity, women in tertiles 2 and 3 of activity, classified as metabolic equivalent task hours, had prevalence odds ratios for premenstrual syndrome of 1.5 (95% CI: 0.6-3.7) and 0.9 (95% CI: 0.4-2.4), respectively (p-value for trend = 0.85).We found no association between physical activity and either premenstrual symptom scores or the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome

Odds ratios and confidence intervals for the association of physical activity and PMS^*.

<p>Odds ratios and confidence intervals for the association of physical activity and PMS^{<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0169728#t004fn001" target="_blank">*</a>}.</p

Association between METs^* and premenstrual symptom scores, among all participants (n = 414).

<p>Association between METs^{<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0169728#t003fn001" target="_blank">*</a>} and premenstrual symptom scores, among all participants (n = 414).</p

Severity of premenstrual symptoms^* of all study participants (n = 414) and of women meeting PMS case (n = 80) and control criteria (n = 89).

<p>Severity of premenstrual symptoms^{<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0169728#t002fn001" target="_blank">*</a>} of all study participants (n = 414) and of women meeting PMS case (n = 80) and control criteria (n = 89).</p

Characteristics of study participants (n = 414) and comparison between PMS cases (n = 80) and controls (n = 89)^*.

<p>Characteristics of study participants (n = 414) and comparison between PMS cases (n = 80) and controls (n = 89)^{<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0169728#t001fn001" target="_blank">*</a>}.</p

Impact of Vitamin A and Carotenoids on the Risk of Tuberculosis Progression

Background. Low and deficient levels of Vitamin A are common in low-And middle-income countries where tuberculosis burden is high. We assessed the impact of baseline levels of Vitamin A and carotenoids on tuberculosis disease risk. Methods. We conducted a case-control study nested within a longitudinal cohort of household contacts (HHCs) of pulmonary tuberculosis case patients in Lima, Peru. We defined case patients as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative HHCs with blood samples in whom tuberculosis disease developed ≥15 days after enrollment of the index patient. For each case patient, we randomly selected 4 controls from among contacts in whom tuberculosis disease did not develop, matching for sex and year of age. We used conditional logistic regression to estimate odds ratios for incident tuberculosis disease by Vitamin A and carotenoids levels, controlling for other nutritional and socioeconomic factors. Results. Among 6751 HIV-negative HHCs with baseline blood samples, 192 had secondary tuberculosis disease during follow- up. We analyzed 180 case patients with viable samples and 709 matched controls. After controlling for possible confounders, we found that baseline Vitamin A deficiency was associated with a 10-fold increase in risk of tuberculosis disease among HHCs (adjusted odds ratio, 10.53; 95% confidence interval, 3.73-29.70; P \u3c .001). This association was dose dependent, with stepwise increases in tuberculosis disease risk with each decreasing quartile of Vitamin A level. Conclusions. Vitamin A deficiency strongly predicted the risk of incident tuberculosis disease among HHCs of patients with tuberculosis. Vitamin A supplementation among individuals at high risk of tuberculosis may provide an effective means of preventing tuberculosis disease