Review, 1998
What does research say about diagnosing and treating PMS and PMDD?
This review explains that careful symptom tracking and ruling out other conditions are key to diagnosing PMS, and that some promising drug treatments exist for PMDD, though it is unclear if they work as well for milder premenstrual symptoms.
What they did
This is a review article (not a new study) summarizing the state of research on PMS and PMDD as of 1998, covering diagnosis methods and treatment options.
What they found
The article states that better screening and diagnosis have allowed proper research into causes and treatments. Prospective daily symptom charting and thorough psychiatric and medical evaluation are needed to rule out other conditions. Several promising drug treatments have been studied for PMDD, but it is not yet known if these work for women with milder symptoms or for those whose premenstrual symptoms are really a flare-up of another underlying condition. Treatment may fail if an underlying condition is not addressed first.
What it means for you
For readers, the key message is that an accurate diagnosis, built on daily symptom tracking and checking for other health issues, matters before starting treatment. As a review from 1998, it reflects older evidence and offers no new data of its own.
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual syndrome
- Authors
- Pearlstein T, Stone AB
- Journal
- The Psychiatric clinics of North America
- Year
- 1998
- Study design
- Review
- What was tested
- None tested directly; reviews existing diagnostic approaches and treatment research
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/s0193-953x(05)70024-1
Topics
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