Binge eating symptoms are associated with the severity of premenstrual symptoms among university students, cross sectional study from Palestine

Plain English summary Premenstrual syndrome refers to physical, emotional, and behavioral symptoms that regularly happen in the 1 to 2 weeks before the start of each menstrual period. Its symptoms influence more than 90% of menstruating females. There is evidence that binge eating symptoms are significantly associated with premenstrual syndrome. The outcomes of the current study showed that half of the participated females have experienced premenstrual symptoms. There was also a significant relationship between premenstrual syndrome and binge eating symptoms. Background Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is considered one of the most prevailing disorders among childbearing age women that could considerably interfere with daily living activities life. PMS is underrecognized in Palestine. It is reported that binge eating symptoms are significantly related to premenstrual syndrome. In this regard, the study aimed to determine factors linked with premenstrual symptoms and to explore whether binge eating symptoms are linked with premenstrual syndrome. Methods This descriptive study was performed among female undergraduates at Palestine Polytechnic University, using a cross-sectional design. A self-administrated questionnaire was used in order to collect data. Moreover, participants' nutritional status was assessed using anthropometric measurements. Descriptive statistics, independent t-test and Chi-square were performed. Results A sum of 289 undergraduate females were involved in the final analysis. The results indicated that nearly half of undergraduates (47.8%) were classified as having binge eating symptoms. The most frequently noted premenstrual symptoms were lethargy, anger feelings, lack of interest, and anxiety. Chi-square analysis showed that moderate and severe psychological symptoms were significantly more prevalent among females with binge eating symptoms. Besides it was found that moderate and severe physical symptoms were significantly more prevalent among females with binge eating symptoms. Moreover, participants who reported no premenstrual syndrome symptoms were significantly less prevalent among females with binge eating symptoms. The findings also reveal that sociodemographic characteristics was not significantly correlated with premenstrual syndrome symptoms. In multiple adjusted models, both smoking (p < 0.05) and binge eating (p < 0.0001) were significantly related to PMS. Conclusion Findings reveals that moderate and severe psychological and physical symptoms were significantly more prevalent among females with binge eating symptoms. The current research also reported that the severity of PMS was not significantly related to sociodemographic variables.