---
title: Do current PMDD diagnostic criteria measure what they are supposed to measure?
description: The study suggests the criteria may be incomplete. It recommends that anger and irritability, depressed mood, and problems with relationships be expanded with
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/establishing-the-diagnostic-validity-of-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-using-1997/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Do current PMDD diagnostic criteria measure what they are supposed to measure?

Case-control study, 1997

# Do current PMDD diagnostic criteria measure what they are supposed to measure?

The study suggests the criteria may be incomplete. It recommends that anger and irritability, depressed mood, and problems with relationships be expanded with more items on symptom checklists.

 Early or limited evidence

Not specified

## What they did

Used a statistical method called Rasch analysis to test whether the individual symptom items in the PMDD diagnostic criteria are valid and work well for distinguishing PMDD.

## What they found

The analysis identified three key areas that should be expanded: anger and irritability, depressed mood, and interpersonal relationship problems. The recommendation was to add more items to symptom checklists in these areas.

## What it means for you

The current PMDD diagnostic criteria may not fully capture important mood and relationship symptoms. The abstract does not say how many women were studied, and this was an analysis of diagnostic criteria rather than research on actual patients.

## About the study

Original title Establishing the diagnostic validity of premenstrual dysphoric disorder using rasch analysis Authors Gehlert S, Chang CH, Hartlage S Journal Journal of outcome measurement Year 1997 Study design Case-control study What was tested None, diagnostic criteria analysis Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9661712/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9661712/)

## Topics

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

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, 2023

Does taking sertraline when PMDD symptoms start improve how well women function?

Randomised trial, 2015

Does taking sertraline only when PMDD symptoms start, instead of every day, help?

Randomised trial, 2008

Does the antidepressant escitalopram taken only during the luteal phase reduce PMDD symptoms?

Randomised trial, 2007

Does paroxetine work better if taken daily or just during your luteal phase for PMDD?

Review, 2003

How do menstrual cycle hormones affect the brain and cause mood disorders like PMDD?

Randomised trial, 2003

Are SSRI antidepressants effective for PMDD?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗