Case-control study, 2017
Are PMDD symptoms triggered by changes in hormone levels or by having high hormone levels?
PMDD symptoms are triggered by the rapid increase in hormone levels after ovulation, not by having those hormones at steady high levels. Once hormone levels stay stable, symptoms improve.
What they did
Researchers studied 22 women with PMDD ages 30 to 50. The 12 women whose symptoms went away during ovarian suppression with leuprolide then received 1 month of placebo and 3 months of continuous combined estradiol and progesterone. Symptoms were tracked every 2 weeks during clinic visits.
What they found
Symptoms were significantly worse during the first month of adding hormones compared to the last month of ovarian suppression, the placebo month, and months 2 and 3 of continuous hormones. There were no significant differences between the suppression period, placebo month, and months 2-3 of continuous hormones.
What it means for you
The rapid change from low to high hormone levels (as happens naturally after ovulation) triggers symptoms, not the high levels themselves. This could lead to new treatments that prevent these rapid changes. The limitation is the small sample of 12 women completing the full study.
22
women with PMDD
12
who had symptom remission and completed hormone phase
3
months of continuous hormone treatment
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder Symptoms Following Ovarian Suppression: Triggered by Change in Ovarian Steroid Levels But Not Continuous Stable Levels
- Authors
- Schmidt PJ, Martinez PE, Nieman LK et al.
- Journal
- The American journal of psychiatry
- Year
- 2017
- Study design
- Case-control study
- Participants
- 22
- What was tested
- Leuprolide ovarian suppression, then placebo and continuous estradiol/progesterone
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.16101113
Topics
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