Survey study, 2023
Which PMDD symptoms cause the most impairment and do they all belong in one condition?
Irritability is by far the most impairing PMDD symptom, affecting 77% of women with premenstrual symptoms. However, many of the symptoms listed in PMDD criteria appear unrelated to mood symptoms and don't seem clinically important on their own.
What they did
10,457 Swedish women answered an online survey asking whether they had premenstrual symptoms that reduced their functioning in daily life. Those who did reported the presence, severity, and impact of each symptom listed in the PMDD diagnosis criteria.
What they found
Nine percent reported impairing premenstrual symptoms. Of those, irritability caused impairment in 77%. While most women reported at least 5 different symptoms (as required for PMDD diagnosis), very few reported 5 symptoms that were both severe and impairing. Mood symptoms clustered together and body symptoms clustered together separately, but body symptoms rarely caused impairment.
What it means for you
Irritability is the key symptom doctors should focus on in PMDD. The current PMDD diagnosis requires multiple different types of symptoms to be present and severe, even though some may not matter clinically or belong together. The main limit is that women were asked to remember their symptoms, which may not be perfectly accurate.
10,457
total participants
9%
reported impairing premenstrual symptoms
77%
experienced irritability impairment
About the study
- Original title
- Significance and Interrelationship of the Symptoms Listed in the DSM Criteria for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
- Authors
- Studer E, Nilsson S, Westman A et al.
- Journal
- Psychiatric research and clinical practice
- Year
- 2023
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 10,457
- What was tested
- None
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1176/appi.prcp.20220007
Topics
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