Randomised trial, 2020
How should premenstrual syndrome be diagnosed and treated?
PMS is diagnosed by tracking cyclical symptoms that appear 2-14 days before menstruation and disappear when menstruation starts. Both hormonal treatments like birth control pills and non-hormonal treatments like Vitex extract have been shown in research to be effective.
What they did
This is a clinical review article that summarizes how to diagnose PMS using standard criteria, how to distinguish it from other conditions, and what evidence shows about treatment options. It is not a primary research study but rather a summary of existing medical knowledge and recommendations from randomized controlled trials.
What they found
PMS diagnosis is based on the cyclical pattern of symptoms occurring in the 2-14 days before menstruation according to ICD-10 criteria, analyzed over two menstrual cycles. Important to rule out other conditions like depression, anxiety, hypothyroidism, anaemia, endometriosis, and autoimmune diseases. Both combined oral contraceptives and non-hormonal treatments containing Vitex have shown effectiveness in research studies and clinical practice.
What it means for you
Women with suspected PMS should see a doctor for proper diagnosis to make sure symptoms are actually PMS and not another condition. Several treatment options exist, both hormonal and non-hormonal. The main limitation is that this is a review article summarizing other research, not a new study with original data.
2-14 days
When PMS symptoms typically appear before menstruation
2 cycles
Period needed to diagnose PMS
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual syndrome: symptoms, diagnostics, phytotherapy (clinical lecture)
- Authors
- V N Prilepskaya, Elmira R. Dovletkhanova
- Journal
- Meditsinskiy sovet = Medical Council
- Year
- 2020
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- What was tested
- Not applicable; clinical review discussing multiple treatment approaches including oral contraceptives and Vitex extract
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.21518/2079-701x-2020-13-106-115
Topics
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