Menstrual Cycle Phase, Estradiol, and PTSD Symptom Severity in Filipino Adolescents and Young Women: A Preliminary Cross-Sectional Study

Women are at greater risk and maintain PTSD throughout their lifetime, and identification of etiology in the disproportionate development and preservation of trauma can be the key to formulating better treatment and management of the debilitating disorder. Sex-specific mechanisms have been implicated as a risk and a maintaining biological factor of PTSD in women. Yet, the role of the menstrual phase and its reflection of the gonadal hormone estradiol as a possible biological factor is not well understood. The study intended to determine and explore the possible association of menstrual phase and estradiol with PTSD among women with diagnosed PTSD. Addressing and improving previous methodological gaps, the present study used a descriptive correlational design and tested the possible association of the menstrual cycle and estradiol with PTSD. 30 women with diagnosed PTSD, aged 13-20 years old, underwent a series of rigorous screening and data gathering processes (laboratory, medical, and psychological assessment) to complete the study. As a result, the symptom severity of the collected sample ranges from mild to moderate severity levels. Menstrual phase outcome reported no statistically significant difference in PTSD symptoms in women with PTSD. Likewise, no statistical significance was revealed between estradiol and PTSD symptoms. Thus, this study highlights the importance of methodological approach in biological and clinical implications in investigating menstrual cycle position and estradiol to PTSD. This study provides new empirical insights and information in the biological – psychological perspective of PTSD.