Survey study, 1986
Do women with severe PMS have more psychiatric illness?
Yes. Women with moderate to severe perimenstrual symptoms had significantly higher lifetime rates of depression and drug abuse than women with mild or no symptoms.
What they did
A cross-sectional study of 58 women aged 30-40. Researchers sorted them into two groups based on interviews: those with mild or no perimenstrual difficulties and those with moderate to severe difficulties. They used a structured interview to assess lifetime psychiatric disorders.
What they found
The 29 women with moderate to severe perimenstrual difficulties had significantly higher lifetime prevalence of affective disorders and drug abuse than the 29 women with mild or no symptoms. No cases of somatization disorder appeared in either group.
What it means for you
Women with severe PMS may have higher risk of depression and drug abuse. However, the sample is small and cross-sectional, so we can't tell if PMS causes these conditions or if they're separate issues that often occur together.
58
women studied
29
women with moderate to severe symptoms
About the study
- Original title
- Lifetime prevalence of psychiatric disorders in women with perimenstrual difficulties
- Authors
- Mackenzie TB, Wilcox K, Baron H
- Journal
- Journal of affective disorders
- Year
- 1986
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 29
- What was tested
- None. This was an observational study.
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/0165-0327(86)90044-3