Systematic review, 2025
What stops people with PMDD from being diagnosed and treated?
Many barriers prevent PMDD diagnosis and treatment, including stigma and shame, lack of doctor knowledge, cultural beliefs about menstruation, and fragmented healthcare systems. Improving care requires addressing all these levels at once, not just one.
What they did
A scoping review of articles from the last 10 years about barriers to PMDD diagnosis and treatment. Researchers used PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL Plus databases to find studies focused on what prevents people from getting diagnosed or treated.
What they found
Four main types of barriers were identified. Individual barriers include internalized stigma, medical trauma, fear, shame, and confusion about the disorder. Medical barriers include doctors not having enough knowledge about PMDD, not following treatment guidelines, and negative patient-doctor interactions. Cultural barriers include stigma around mental health and menstruation, cultural norms that discourage help-seeking, and preference for traditional medicine. Structural barriers include fragmented healthcare systems and limited access to health services.
What it means for you
PMDD diagnosis and treatment are blocked by factors at personal, medical, cultural, and healthcare system levels. Simple solutions like educating doctors or patients alone will not work. The main limit is that this review describes barriers without testing what improves access. Improvement requires addressing all these levels.
4
Types of barriers identified
10
Years of articles reviewed
About the study
- Original title
- Barriers to Diagnosis and Treatment for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD): A Scoping Review
- Authors
- Nayak A, Wood SN, Hantsoo L
- Journal
- Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.)
- Year
- 2025
- Study design
- Systematic review
- What was tested
- None; this was a review of barriers rather than testing a solution
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1007/s43032-025-01861-3
Topics
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