Cohort study, 2018
Do women with PMDD have different symptom patterns, and do some patterns cause more problems?
Yes. Six distinct symptom patterns were identified: depressed mood, body symptoms, irritability, breast sensitivity, pain, and eating behavior changes. Body/somatic symptoms were most strongly linked to problems at work and in relationships.
What they did
Prospective analysis of 174 symptom diaries from women diagnosed with severe PMS or PMDD. Researchers used factor analysis to identify natural groupings of symptoms. They tracked how stable these patterns were across menstrual cycles and analyzed which patterns predicted problems at work, in relationships, and in leisure activities.
What they found
Six symptom clusters were identified: affective dysphoria (mood changes), somatic dysphoria (body symptoms), irritability, breast/body sensitivity, pain, and eating behavior. These clusters were generally stable across consecutive cycles (except pain and eating behavior). Body/somatic symptoms were most strongly associated with work, relationship, and leisure impairment.
What it means for you
PMDD is not one uniform condition but several different symptom patterns. Treatment should be tailored to each woman's pattern rather than one-size-fits-all. Body and somatic symptoms deserve special attention because they cause the most impairment at work and in relationships. However, the abstract does not clearly state how many individual women these 174 diaries represent.
174
Symptom diaries analyzed
6
Distinct symptom clusters identified
0.83 to 0.91
Cronbach's alpha for most clusters
About the study
- Original title
- Clusters of premenstrual symptoms in women with PMDD: Appearance, stability and association with impairment
- Authors
- Kaiser G, Janda C, Kleinstäuber M et al.
- Journal
- Journal of psychosomatic research
- Year
- 2018
- Study design
- Cohort study
- What was tested
- None
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2018.10.004
Topics
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