Survey study, 2016
Can a blood test tell PMDD apart from regular PMS?
Possibly, but this is early lab research. Women with PMDD had lower beta-arrestin1 protein and higher testosterone than women with PMS, suggesting these might one day help with diagnosis, but it has not been tested as an actual diagnostic test.
What they did
Researchers studied 25 women aged 18 to 42 with PMS or PMDD symptoms, not on antidepressants, tested during the luteal (premenstrual) phase. They measured beta-arrestin1 protein in blood immune cells and testosterone in blood plasma, and assessed depression severity with a standard interview and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale.
What they found
Women with PMDD (who had depression) had significantly higher testosterone levels and significantly lower beta-arrestin1 protein levels than women with PMS alone.
What it means for you
These biological differences might eventually help doctors distinguish PMDD from PMS, but the study is small (25 women), cross-sectional, and does not test this as a working diagnostic tool. More research is needed before this could be used in clinics.
25
Number of women studied
18-42 years
Age range
About the study
- Original title
- Beta‐arrestin1 and testosterone levels in women with depression during premenstrual dysphoric disorder
- Authors
- Keisha Smith, Farzana Alam, Twum Ampofo Ansah et al.
- Journal
- The FASEB Journal
- Year
- 2016
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 25
- What was tested
- No treatment tested; this was a comparison of blood markers between PMS and PMDD groups
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.929.9
Topics
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