Can the PSST reliably diagnose PMDD?

Abstract Background Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) that affects the functioning and includes various physical, depressive, and anxiety symptoms. The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview, Module U (MINI-U), assesses the diagnostic criteria for probable PMDD. The Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST) measures the severity of these symptoms and provides scores from which we can diagnose PMS and PMDD. The purpose of this study is to obtain the cut-offs from PSST that would fit well with the diagnosis of PMDD using the MINI-U as a gold standard. Methods We administered the Arabic MINI-U and PSST independently to Arab women (N = 194) in Doha, Qatar. The Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the PSST ordinal scores between those who answered Yes vs No on the corresponding MINI-U items. These comparisons were followed by Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analyses using the MINI-U answers as the gold standard to determine the cut-off scores on the PSST, in addition to their sensitivity and specificity measures Results The rating of PSST scores for participants who answered Yes in the MINI-U varied from 1.5 (not at all to mild) to 3 (moderate). Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analyses showed that all areas under the curves (AUCs) were significant with the cut-off scores on the corresponding PSST items. Conclusion This cross-validation gives reassurance that the severity measures of PSST can recognize patients with moderate/severe PMS and PMDD who would benefit from immediate treatment instead of waiting another two months. Keywords Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, Arabs, cross-validation

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