background Generalised Social Anxiety Disorder (gsad), is one of the most common psychiatric disorders. Since gsad occurs twice as frequent in women as in men, its onset is often in puberty, and the symptoms of gsad are more severe in women, the question arises whether the changes in gonadal hormones influence the onset and course of gsad.
aim To investigate the influence of female reproductive hormones on symptoms of generalised social anxiety disorder.
method Women with gsad filled in a survey addressing the effects of menstrual cycle, use of oral contraceptives, pregnancy, postpartum period and menopause on social anxiety and avoidance.
results Of 64 patients, most patients did not report an influence of the female reproductive events on gsad symptoms. In the social anxiety and avoidance scores of women who did experience differences, statistically significant differences were found. In the premenstrual period, patients reported an increase in symptoms. During pregnancy the symptoms seem to decrease, but postpartum they reach the same levels as before pregnancy.
conclusion According to these data we may assume that gonadal hormones might influence symptoms of gsad.