---
title: Can severe head injury lead to PMDD? | Niyora
description: Yes. A 17-year-old girl developed PMDD months after a severe traumatic brain injury. She needed antipsychotic medication to manage her symptoms.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-in-a-patient-with-traumatic-brain-injury-a-case-2018/
---

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- Can severe head injury lead to PMDD?

Case report, 2018

# Can severe head injury lead to PMDD?

Yes. A 17-year-old girl developed PMDD months after a severe traumatic brain injury. She needed antipsychotic medication to manage her symptoms.

 Early or limited evidence

One 17-year-old girl with traumatic brain injury

## What they did

Described one case of a 17-year-old girl who developed severe depression around her period months after sustaining a severe traumatic brain injury. A psychiatrist diagnosed her with PMDD.

## What they found

She experienced severe depression symptoms around her menses in the months after the head injury. She needed antipsychotics to manage her symptoms. PMDD typically includes irritability, anxiety, and sometimes suicidal thoughts.

## What it means for you

Traumatic brain injury may trigger PMDD in girls and women. This is one case, so we cannot know how often it happens. It is important for doctors treating people after head injuries to screen for PMDD, especially because it can lead to suicidal thoughts.

17

age when head injury occurred

1

case reported

## About the study

Original title Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder in a Patient With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Case Presentation Authors Omura J, Osorio M Journal PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitation Year 2018 Study design Case report What was tested Antipsychotic medication Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/j.pmrj.2017.07.080](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmrj.2017.07.080)

## 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/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Suicidality](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-suicidality/)[PTSD and trauma](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-ptsd-trauma/)[Schizophrenia and psychosis](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-psychosis/)

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

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Randomised trial, 2023

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