---
title: What is the best way to diagnose premenstrual dysphoric disorder?
description: A three-step diagnostic process including phone screening, clinical interview, and daily symptom tracking over two menstrual cycles can accurately identify PM
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-recommendation-for-diagnosis-of-a-distinct-2002/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- What is the best way to diagnose premenstrual dysphoric disorder?

Guideline, 2002

# What is the best way to diagnose premenstrual dysphoric disorder?

A three-step diagnostic process including phone screening, clinical interview, and daily symptom tracking over two menstrual cycles can accurately identify PMDD. Using this process, 4% of women tested had PMDD, matching rates reported in other studies.

 Early or limited evidence

Women evaluated using diagnostic procedure (total sample size not specified)

## What they did

Proposed and tested a three-step diagnostic procedure. Step 1: phone screening. Step 2: retrospective diagnosis using a structured clinical interview. Step 3: prospective diagnosis based on daily symptom ratings during two consecutive menstrual cycles.

## What they found

Using the three-step diagnostic process, 4% of the women evaluated were confirmed to have PMDD. This prevalence rate matches what is reported in the medical literature.

## What it means for you

Proper PMDD diagnosis requires tracking your symptoms day-by-day during your actual menstrual cycles, not just remembering symptoms or answering questions once. The link between symptoms and cycle timing is central to diagnosis. Main limitation: the total sample size is not stated in the abstract.

4%

of sample had PMDD

2

consecutive menstrual cycles tracked

3

steps in diagnostic process

## About the study

Original title [Premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Recommendation for diagnosis of a distinct affective clinical picture] Authors Schwärzler B, Hautzinger M Journal Der Nervenarzt Year 2002 Study design Guideline What was tested None - diagnostic method study Read the paper [doi.org/10.1007/s115-002-8149-z](https://doi.org/10.1007/s115-002-8149-z)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Eating disorders](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-eating-disorders/)

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

Case-control study, 2010

Do women with PMDD crave high-sugar and high-fat foods more than other women?

Case-control study, 1997

Are PMDD and eating disorders related?

Cohort study, 2026

What genetic factors are linked to premenstrual symptoms?

Study, 2026

How do women with PMDD process emotions differently in their brains?

Systematic review, 2026

Why do some women experience mood changes linked to their menstrual cycle?

Case-control study, 2026

Do women with PMS handle emotions differently at different times of the cycle?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗