Your periods may be more painful if you have this condition

If your period is a real pain, something else could be entirely to blame.

While there are many reproductive issues that can lead to worse periods—fibroids, endometriosis, and cervical stenosis, to name a few—new research suggests that another issue may be a big reason behind menstrual problems.

The new study, published in Briefings in Bioinformatics, found a link between depression and dysmenorrhea, or menstrual pain.

“Depression and menstrual pain significantly affect the lives of women around the world, yet their relationship remains poorly understood,” said lead author Dr. John Moraros, dean and professor at the School of Science at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in China , according to CNN.

“Our collective goal is to critically investigate these issues and improve care for women by uncovering these complex connections and finding better ways to address them.”

While depression and period pain have been linked before, the new study suggests that depression causes period pain — not the other way around.

That’s because it depends on our DNA: Researchers found that there are genetic pathways that allow depression to affect menstruation. In fact, people with depression were found to be 51% more likely to experience menstrual cramps.

“Our findings provide preliminary evidence that depression may be a cause, rather than a consequence, of dysmenorrhea as we found no evidence that menstrual pain increases the risk of depression,” said lead author Shuhe Liu.

The study authors also found that insomnia may increase the likelihood of menstrual cramps even more.

Although they noted that more research is needed, they also stressed that the study offers a lesson.

“These findings highlight the importance of mental health in the management of female reproductive symptoms and lay the foundation for understanding the genetic and molecular interplay between these conditions,” they said.

Previously, a 2021 publication in Frontiers in Psychiatry showed that the relationship can also work in the other direction.

They found that women with menstrual pain are “vulnerable to developing a depressive disorder, which is a common form of psychotic distress.”