Survey study, 1993
Is the 'top-ten' method a valid way to detect PMS?
Yes. The method successfully identified PMS and ruled out women without symptoms, matching the standard diagnosis criterion.
What they did
They measured 10 common premenstrual symptoms in 202 Dutch women using a 1-to-10 scale from day 12 to day 26 of their menstrual cycles across two cycles. They tested whether symptoms increased by at least 2 points in 5 or more of the 10 symptoms, and compared this to the standard criterion of at least 30% increase from the follicular phase to the luteal phase.
What they found
The 'top-ten' method successfully identified women with PMS and excluded those without symptoms. The results matched the standard criterion in almost all subjects.
What it means for you
A simple scoring method can reliably detect PMS. However, this was a cross-sectional study in one country, so the method may need testing in other populations.
202
women studied
2
consecutive menstrual cycles measured
2-point increase
symptom increase on 1-to-10 scale
About the study
- Original title
- A simple strategy to detect significant premenstrual changes
- Authors
- Schagen van Leeuwen JH, te Velde ER, Kop WJ et al.
- Journal
- Journal of psychosomatic obstetrics and gynaecology
- Year
- 1993
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 202
- What was tested
- The 'top-ten' diagnostic method
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.3109/01674829309084443