Skip to content

Case report, 1993

Do psychotic symptoms happen during the menstrual cycle?

Yes, according to medical literature from decades. Transient psychotic symptoms during the week before menstruation and during menstruation have been documented. However, recent systematic research on this is lacking, so we cannot say how common it is.

Early or limited evidence Not specified; this is a literature review

What they did

This review examined medical literature on psychotic symptoms happening during the week before menstruation and during menstruation. Several patients with premenstrual psychoses were described.

What they found

Psychotic symptoms during the menstrual cycle have been documented in medical literature for decades. These cases have been described using terms like atypical psychosis, periodic psychosis, and cycloid psychosis. However, the standard diagnostic category for severe premenstrual disturbance does not include psychotic features as core symptoms.

What it means for you

Some women do experience psychotic symptoms that occur with their menstrual cycle. Good systematic research on this topic is lacking, so we do not have clear information about how common this occurs or how to treat it best.

About the study

Original title
A literature review of psychotic symptoms associated with the premenstruum
Authors
Severino SK, Yonkers KA
Journal
Psychosomatics
Year
1993
Study design
Case report
What was tested
None

Topics