ORIGINAL ARTICLE Factors associated with premenstrual syndrome e A survey of new female university students Shu Hui Cheng a,b , Chi-Chen Shih c , Yen Kuang Yang a,b,d , Kow-Tong Chen e , Yun-Hsuan Chang b,f , Yi-Ching Yang c,e, * a Office of Student Affairs, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan b Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan c Department of Family Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan d Addiction Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan e Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan f Division of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Allied Health Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan Received 27 June 2011; accepted 18 August 2011 KEYWORDS Cholesterol; College student; Premenstrual syndrome; Sleep quality Abstract Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) can impact an individual’s interpersonal relation- ships, social interactions, productivity, lifestyle, school performance and emotional well- being. This study was designed to explore the factors associated with PMS in new female university students in Taiwan. The test battery included a self-administered structured ques- tionnaire, the five-item brief symptoms rating scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Chinese Premenstrual Symptom Questionnaire. Additionally, details of the participants’ life- styles and family and personal histories of physical illness were recorded. Serum lipids were also measured. Of all the participants (N Z 1699), 39.85% were defined as having PMS. Using logistical regression analysis, we found a positive relationship between PMS and consuming more foods containing egg yolk, greater alcohol intake, poorer sleep quality, higher likelihood of psychiatric morbidity, family history of dyslipidemia, and a higher serum cholesterol level. The results show that PMS is prevalent among new female university students and that lifestyle and nutritional/metabolic factors may play a role in this disorder. Copyright ª 2012, Kaohsiung Medical University. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, 138 Sheng Li Road, Tainan 70428, Taiwan. E-mail address: yiching@mail.ncku.edu.tw (Y.-C. Yang). + MODEL KJMS268_proof ■ 2 January 2013 ■ 1/6 Please cite this article in press as: Cheng SH, et al., Factors associated with premenstrual syndrome e A survey of new female university students, Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.kjms.2012.08.017 1607-551X/$36 Copyright ª 2012, Kaohsiung Medical University. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.kjms.2012.08.017 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: http://www.kjms-online.com Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences (2012) xx,1e6