Premenstrual syndrome, body fat and bitter taste receptor gene TAS2R38 among adult Kullu females of Himachal Pradesh, India.

OBJECTIVE

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is still a poorly understood and accepted condition. We evaluate the phenotypic variations at TAS2R38 gene locus in relation to PMS severity and adiposity measures among adult women. This is the first ever report describing association of PTC taste genetic locus with the PMS susceptibility.

METHODS

The study was based on a cross-sectional sample of 105 adult rural women from the Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh. Retrospective approach was used to assess PMS. PTC tasting ability was assessed after Harris & Kalmus (1949). Each subject was measured for height, weight and body fat measures.

RESULTS

19.05% of the females were PTC non-tasters and 80.95% were tasters. Prevalence of PMS was 45.71%. Prevalence of severe type of PMS was very low, varying from 0-6%. Severity was highest in PMS-A type characterized by anxiety/irritability, tension, clumsiness, mood swings, nervousness, and insomnia. Females who tasted PTC bitter at lower concentrations had lowest PMS prevalence, while those who tasted PTC at higher concentration had highest PMS prevalence. Stature and body weight decreased with increase in PTC taste sensitivity. However, one-way ANOVA revealed that all the F-ratios were insignificant between the three discrete categories of low, medium and high PTC thresholds.

CONCLUSION

Our results are compatible with the hypothesis that the bitter receptor gene TAS2R38 could not serve as a significant predictor of anthropometric measurements though some indirect pathways may not be ruled out, but the gene is significantly correlated with PMS susceptibility and severity.