Survey study, 2018
Do the PSST and DRSP questionnaires give the same PMS diagnosis?
No, the two questionnaires gave very different results with poor agreement. The PSST is best used as a screening tool to identify possible cases that then need confirmation with the more thorough DRSP.
What they did
Cross-sectional study. Two hundred eighty-two women aged 20-45 years with PMS complaints completed the PSST screening tool. Of these, 127 completed the DRSP questionnaire for two consecutive menstrual cycles. Women with depression were excluded.
What they found
By DRSP, 74.8 percent of women had PMS and 3.9 percent had PMDD. By PSST, 41.7 percent had PMS and 34.6 percent had PMDD. There was no agreement between the two questionnaires (Kappa 0.12, with PABAK coefficient 0.39). The PSST had high sensitivity (79 percent) but low specificity (33.3 percent) for PMS and PMDD diagnosis.
What it means for you
The PSST and DRSP diagnose PMS and PMDD very differently. The PSST is useful as a first-step screening tool because it catches most true cases (high sensitivity), but it also incorrectly flags many women as having PMS when they do not (low specificity). Women screening positive on PSST need confirmation with DRSP for accurate diagnosis.
127
women who completed both questionnaires
74.8%
diagnosed with PMS by DRSP
41.7%
diagnosed with PMS by PSST
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual Syndrome Diagnosis: A Comparative Study between the Daily Record of Severity of Problems (DRSP) and the Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST)
- Authors
- Henz A, Ferreira CF, Oderich CL et al.
- Journal
- Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetricia : revista da Federacao Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetricia
- Year
- 2018
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 127
- What was tested
- None (diagnostic comparison study)
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1055/s-0037-1608672
Topics
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