---
title: Can a symptom diary distinguish between PMS and PMDD? | Niyora
description: Yes, researchers developed scoring systems for symptom diaries that reliably distinguished between PMS and PMDD and correlated well with other assessments.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/a-symptom-diary-to-assess-severe-premenstrual-syndrome-and-premenstrual-2017/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Can a symptom diary distinguish between PMS and PMDD?

Survey study, 2017

# Can a symptom diary distinguish between PMS and PMDD?

Yes, researchers developed scoring systems for symptom diaries that reliably distinguished between PMS and PMDD and correlated well with other assessments.

 Early or limited evidence

98 women aged 20 to 45 years

## What they did

98 women aged 20 to 45 years kept symptom diaries over two menstrual cycles. They also completed a retrospective screening for premenstrual symptoms and answered questionnaires about impairment from August 2013 to August 2015. Researchers created two scoring systems to evaluate the diaries.

## What they found

The two scoring systems showed moderate to good reliability (Cronbach's alpha 0.83 to 0.96). The scores correlated well with other PMS measures and retrospective screening tools, but showed low correlation with personality traits.

## What it means for you

These scoring methods could help doctors and researchers evaluate symptom diaries in practice, but more validation studies are needed in different settings.

98

Number of women

0.83-0.96

Cronbach's alpha reliability

2

Menstrual cycles tracked

## About the study

Original title A symptom diary to assess severe premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder Authors Janda C, Kues JN, Andersson G et al. Journal Women & health Year 2017 Study design Survey study What was tested None (assessment and validation study) Read the paper [doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2016.1206055](https://doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2016.1206055)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Quality of life and daily functioning](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-quality-of-life/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

## Related studies

Cohort study, 2025

Do women with PMS or PMDD report lower quality of life than women without these conditions?

Systematic review, 2025

How common are PMS, PMDD, and painful periods in nursing students, and do they affect their schooling?

Cohort study, 2024

Do women with severe premenstrual disorders have higher risk of relationship breakup?

Randomised trial, 2023

Does taking sertraline when PMDD symptoms start improve how well women function?

Cohort study, 2022

Does body size during childhood affect the risk of premenstrual disorders later?

Survey study, 2022

What causes PMS and PMDD and what new treatments are being studied?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗