---
title: Do women with PMS have more mental health conditions than other women?
description: Yes. Women seeking treatment for PMS have higher rates of depression-like mood disorders, extreme fears (phobias), obsessive-compulsive patterns, and alcohol
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/comparison-of-lifetime-psychiatric-diagnoses-in-premenstrual-syndrome-clinic-and-1986/
---

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- Do women with PMS have more mental health conditions than other women?

Study, 1986

# Do women with PMS have more mental health conditions than other women?

Yes. Women seeking treatment for PMS have higher rates of depression-like mood disorders, extreme fears (phobias), obsessive-compulsive patterns, and alcohol or drug abuse compared to women in the general population.

 Moderate study design

223 women from a PMS clinic and 923 women from the general community in the same age group and geographic area.

## What they did

The study gave 223 women from a PMS clinic and 923 women from the general community the same structured interview to diagnose mental health conditions. Both groups were from the same age range and geographic area.

## What they found

Women from the PMS clinic more often had depression-like mood disorders, phobias, obsessive-compulsive patterns, and alcohol or drug abuse problems compared to community women.

## What it means for you

Women who seek help for PMS are more likely to also have certain mental health conditions related to mood, anxiety, and substance use. However, it's unclear whether PMS causes these conditions, whether these conditions make PMS worse, or whether the way doctors categorize mental health doesn't match what's really happening with PMS.

223

women from PMS clinic

923

women from community

## About the study

Original title Comparison of lifetime psychiatric diagnoses in Premenstrual Syndrome Clinic and community samples Authors Stout AL, Steege JF, Blazer DG et al. Journal The Journal of nervous and mental disease Year 1986 Study design Study Participants 923 Read the paper [doi.org/10.1097/00005053-198609000-00002](https://doi.org/10.1097/00005053-198609000-00002)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Major depressive disorder](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-major-depression/)[Anxiety disorders and OCD](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-anxiety-disorders/)

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