One in 10 women say their everyday life is greatly affected by premenstrual syndrome (PMS), a new survey has shown.

PMS refers to the physical, mental and emotional symptoms which women may experience during their menstrual cycle. Most women experience some symptoms of PMS at intervals throughout their life. However some women experience PMS every month.

Symptoms can include mood swings, anger, depression, abdominal cramps, tender breasts, nausea and a flare-up of acne

Over 500 women throughout Ireland took part in the survey, which found that those aged between 25 and 34 suffer from PMS symptoms the most.

The most common symptom experienced by women was cramps, followed by mood swings.

Almost half said that symptoms had a strong impact on their emotional and physical wellbeing, while one in 10 said that their daily life was greatly affected.

Meanwhile, almost seven in 10 said that their personality changes for the worse when they have PMS, while one in seven admitted that they sometimes do not recognise themselves when suffering from it.

Almost nine in 10 of those surveyed believe that PMS is a normal part of the menstrual cycle.

Furthermore, while one in four women are constantly on the look out for new potential remedies for PMS, one in four exercises more as a way of coping with their symptoms.

The survey was carried out in April by Empathy Research.