---
title: Can antidepressants help severe PMS (PMDD) symptoms like irritability and low mood?
description: Yes. This review says serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) antidepressants reduce PMDD symptoms effectively, while non-serotonin antidepressants do not, and the
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/diagnosis-and-treatment-of-premenstrual-dysphoria-2002/
---

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- Can antidepressants help severe PMS (PMDD) symptoms like irritability and low mood?

Review, 2002

# Can antidepressants help severe PMS (PMDD) symptoms like irritability and low mood?

Yes. This review says serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) antidepressants reduce PMDD symptoms effectively, while non-serotonin antidepressants do not, and they can even be taken only in part of the cycle.

 Early or limited evidence

Fertile women with premenstrual dysphoria (PMD), a severe form of PMS, affecting an estimated 5-10% of fertile women.

## What they did

This is a review article (not a new study) that pulls together existing research on diagnosing and treating premenstrual dysphoria (PMD), a severe form of PMS.

## What they found

PMD affects 5% to 10% of all fertile women. Its core symptoms are depressed mood, tension, mood swings and irritability, occurring between ovulation and the period and clearing up within a few days of bleeding starting. SRIs reduce these symptoms, but other (nonserotonergic) antidepressants do not. SRIs also start working faster for PMD than they do for depression, so some women can take them only during the luteal phase (the time between ovulation and the period) rather than every day. The most common side effect with long-term use is sexual dysfunction.

## What it means for you

SRI antidepressants, sometimes taken for only part of the cycle, are a treatment option for severe PMS/PMDD backed by research the author reviewed. The main limit is that this is a summary of other people's findings, not a new controlled study with its own participants, so it does not give fresh trial numbers of its own.

5-10%

Fertile women affected by PMD

## About the study

Original title Diagnosis and treatment of premenstrual dysphoria Authors Eriksson E, Andersch B, Ho HP et al. Journal The Journal of clinical psychiatry Year 2002 Study design Review What was tested SRI antidepressants vs nonserotonergic antidepressants; taken continuously or only in the luteal phase. Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11995774/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11995774/)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Irritability and anger](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-irritability-anger/)[SSRIs and antidepressants](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-ssri/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

## Related studies

Randomised trial, 1998

Is intermittent citalopram during the luteal phase more effective than continuous dosing?

Randomised trial, 1995

Does fluoxetine help premenstrual dysphoria?

Randomised trial, 2025

Does escitalopram reduce aggressive behavior in women with premenstrual anger and irritability?

Randomised trial, 2025

Does escitalopram improve attention and reduce impulsivity in women with premenstrual irritability and anger?

Cohort study, 2022

What are PMS and PMDD and how should they be diagnosed and treated?

Randomised trial, 2017

Does Sepranolone reduce symptoms of severe premenstrual syndrome (PMDD)?

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