Understanding help-seeking behaviours for premenstrual symptoms

Premenstrual symptoms affect millions of people across the UK – yet nearly half never seek professional help, according to Cambridge researchers. 

A new study, published in PLOS Mental Health, sheds light on the critical reasons behind this troubling gap in care, revealing how social and work impairments, symptom perception, and previous healthcare experiences shape help-seeking behaviour. 

Led by research assistant Erin Funnell of the Cambridge Centre for Neuropsychiatric Research (CCNR) within the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (CEB), the study surveyed 592 UK-based adults who had experienced premenstrual symptoms. Despite many reporting severe and disruptive symptoms, 42.74% of participants had never sought help from a healthcare professional. 

The study found that people were more likely to seek medical help for premenstrual symptoms if these symptoms seriously affected their social life or ability to work or study, if they believed their symptoms were severe, or if they had previously experienced poor care related to reproductive or gynaecological health. These insights show how symptoms and their impact on daily life can influence whether someone decides to seek medical help. 

Applying these figures to the UK population, as many as 13 million women and girls in England and Wales alone could be managing, have managed, or will manage, premenstrual symptoms without professional care. This gap poses a risk of unnecessary distress and missed opportunities for effective treatment to ameliorate symptoms – especially for those experiencing high-risk symptoms such as suicidality.

Instead of poor prior healthcare experiences discouraging people from seeking help, the study suggests these experiences may sometimes prompt further attempts to access care. This indicates a need for improved service quality and better patient support.

The authors emphasise the urgent need for better public education and clearer clinical guidance to improve recognition of severe premenstrual disorders and encourage timely help-seeking. Digital symptom tracking and psychoeducation are promising tools that could empower individuals to identify problematic symptoms early and distinguish them from normal cyclical changes.

“Many people are still suffering in silence – not because they don’t need help, but because they’ve been dismissed, misunderstood, or simply don’t know where to turn to,” said Funnell.

“By understanding what actually motivates people to seek help – and what puts them off – we can design better ways of supporting them. That includes improving GP training, public health campaigns to increase awareness, and ensuring symptoms are taken seriously.”

The findings could help primary care services identify those at risk of missing out on support and design more targeted interventions. Funnell hopes this work will improve clinical awareness and guidance around premenstrual mental health, which remain under-recognised and under-researched.

Professor Sabine Bahn, Principal Investigator of the study, added: “This work addresses a critical gap in our understanding of premenstrual disorders – not just in terms of the symptoms themselves, but the real-world challenges people face in accessing care. It’s a vital step towards designing better services and improving outcomes.”

This research is part of CCNR’s broader work on mental health, including combined digital and biomarker diagnostics for affective disorder and women’s mental health in relation to menstruation and the menopause. A previous survey published in BMC Health Services Research in January 2025, involving 339 UK adults who had sought help for premenstrual symptoms, revealed widespread dissatisfaction with healthcare provisions. The study highlighted the urgent need for improved training, clearer assessment protocols, and more empathetic care from healthcare professionals.