Survey study, 1986
Do severely depressed women experience different PMS symptoms than women without depression?
No, not in symptom type. Depressed women reported the same symptoms as non-depressed women with PMS but rated them as more severe, suggesting depression influences how severe symptoms feel rather than changing what they are.
What they did
Researchers compared the nature and severity of premenstrual symptoms in severely depressed women with severe PMS to nondepressed women with severe PMS.
What they found
Severely depressed women had higher PMS scores than nondepressed women. However, both groups did not differ in which symptoms they experienced or how they ranked them. Depression appeared to influence how women perceived and rated their symptoms, but the underlying premenstrual dysfunction was identical in both groups.
What it means for you
Depression may make PMS feel more severe without changing the actual symptoms. The main limitations are that no sample size is given and this is a cross-sectional comparison without control groups.
About the study
- Original title
- Comparison of depressed and nondepressed women with severe premenstrual tension syndrome
- Authors
- Siegel JP, Meyers B, Dineen MK
- Journal
- Psychotherapy and psychosomatics
- Year
- 1986
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- Observational comparison study, no treatment tested
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1159/000287936
Topics
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