How common is severe premenstrual disorder (PMDD) in female medical students in Nepal?

Introduction: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome that impairs quality of life and carries an increased risk of suicidal attempts. Hormonal changes may underlie these symptoms. The present study was conducted to find out the prevalence of premenstrual dysphoric disorder among female students of a medical college in Nepal. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 266 healthy young females in a medical college of Nepal from 21st June 2021 to 31st August 2021 with approval from the Institutional Review Committee 51/2021. Convenience sampling was done. Self-rated questionnaire of premenstrual symptoms screening tool was used to evaluate premenstrual dysphoric disorder. The Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool reflects and translates categorical Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV criteria into a rating scale with degrees of severity. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 16. Point estimate at 95% confidence interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for the binary data. Results: Out of 266 female students, we found that the prevalence of premenstrual dysphoric disorder was 10 (3.8%) (1.50-6.10 at 95% Confidence Interval). Conclusions: The prevalence of premenstrual dysphoric disorder in our study was found to be higher when compared to other similar studies.

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