Randomised trial, 1985
What are the best methods for studying premenstrual syndrome?
Good PMS research should use well-defined patient groups, confirm reports with daily monitoring, consider different types of biological changes, exclude placebo responders before testing treatments, and use double-blind placebo-controlled crossover designs.
What they did
This paper reviews methodological issues in studies of premenstrual changes. It does not present a treatment trial, but rather discusses best practices for research design, including subject selection, assessment methods, statistical approaches, and study structure.
What they found
The paper identifies key issues for better research: selecting well-defined groups reflecting diversity of PMS subtypes, confirming reports through daily monitoring and objective procedures, considering diversity of biological changes instead of just comparing average levels, using multivariate time-related approaches, excluding placebo responders before testing drugs, and requiring double-blind placebo-controlled crossover designs.
What it means for you
Following these methodological standards leads to more consistent findings across studies. This helps explain why many earlier PMS studies have conflicting results. This is a methodology paper rather than research on a specific treatment, so it does not provide evidence about what works for PMS.
8
symptom complexes discussed in PMS research
daily monitoring
required confirmation method
About the study
- Original title
- Methodological issues in studies of premenstrual changes
- Authors
- Halbreich U, Endicott J
- Journal
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Year
- 1985
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- What was tested
- Not applicable
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/0306-4530(85)90036-8
Topics
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