The main objective of this study was to evaluate whether daily consumption of caffeine-containing beverages is related to the prevalence and severity of premenstrual syndrome apart from any effects of daily total fluid consumption. A secondary objective was to determine whether daily total fluid consumption itself is related to premenstrual syndrome. The study is based on 841 responses to a questionnaire probing menstrual and premenstrual health, and daily fluid consumption, which was mailed to female university students in Oregon. Analysis of the data revealed that consumption of caffeine-containing beverages was strongly related to the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome. Among women with more severe symptoms, the relation between consumption of caffeine- IntroductionPrevious investigations have indicated that the consumption of caffeine-containing beverages is strongly related to the prevalence and severity of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and that such effects exist for a wide variety of premenstrual symptoms. -4 Further work demonstrated that the association between premenstrual symptoms and consumption of caffeine-containing beverages occurs even among women who lack other putative causes of the syndrome.5 Such putative causes included alcohol use, cigarette use, lack of exercise, oral contraceptive use, and a diet high in beef and refined sugar products.6-'8One possible explanation for the observed association between consumption of caffeine-containing beverages and premenstrual symptoms is that consumption of these beverages is related to daily total fluid consumption, and that it is daily total fluid consumption which is causally related to premenstrual symptoms. Such an explanation might be consistent with the retention of fluid experienced by many women who report premenstrual symptoms.This study was undertaken to assess the relation between premenstrual syndrome and caffeine-containing beverage intake, and between premenstrual syndrome and total fluid intake, controlling for any confounding effects attributable to the other variable. In addition, we wanted to describe the dose-response relation between premenstrual syndrome and consumption of caffeine-containing beverages and of total fluid, and to discover which types of caffeine-containing beverages might exert an effect.

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This study investigated an outbreak of axillary lymphadenitis and abscesses after Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination among rural Haitian children treated at the Hospital Albert Schweitzer from January 1986 through March 1991. Seventy-seven cases of vaccine-related complications were identified, all among children immunized before the age of 1 year. The proportions of children with complications were 0.017% for 1986 through 1989, 0.91% for 1990, and 2.2% for January through March 1991.

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