---
title: What is PMS and PMDD, how common are they, and how are they usually treated?
description: PMS is very common, affecting almost half of women of reproductive age worldwide, and most cases are mild to moderate, while PMDD is a more severe, officially
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/premenstrual-syndrome-archived-2023/
---

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- What is PMS and PMDD, how common are they, and how are they usually treated?

Survey study, 2023

# What is PMS and PMDD, how common are they, and how are they usually treated?

PMS is very common, affecting almost half of women of reproductive age worldwide, and most cases are mild to moderate, while PMDD is a more severe, officially recognized psychiatric form; treatment usually starts with lifestyle approaches and moves to medication like SSRIs for severe cases.

 Early or limited evidence

General summary of reproductive-age women worldwide (not a specific study sample)

## What they did

This is an overview article (not a new study) summarizing existing knowledge about PMS and PMDD, including how common they are, their symptoms, and the treatments doctors use.

## What they found

Worldwide, about 47.8% of women of reproductive age have PMS. Of those, about 20% have symptoms severe enough to disrupt daily life, the rest mild to moderate. Symptoms include appetite changes, weight gain, pain, headache, breast tenderness, nausea, constipation, anxiety, irritability, anger, fatigue, mood swings, and crying. PMDD is a more severe form, classified as a psychiatric disorder in DSM-5. Mild cases are treated first with non-drug approaches (exercise, nutrition, herbs, CBT, social support, rest, vitamins); severe cases often need SSRIs.

## What it means for you

PMS is extremely common and usually manageable with lifestyle changes, but a notable minority of women have symptoms severe enough to need medical treatment, and PMDD is recognized as a distinct, more serious mental health condition. This is a summary of existing knowledge rather than new research, so it reflects general patterns, not one study's results.

47.8%

Worldwide prevalence of PMS

~20%

Of those, with severe, disruptive symptoms

## About the study

Original title Premenstrual Syndrome (Archived) Authors Gudipally PR, Sharma GK Journal StatPearls Publishing, Treasure Island (FL) Year 2023 Study design Survey study What was tested None tested; overview of existing non-drug and drug treatments (exercise, nutrition, herbs, CBT, social support, rest, vitamins, and SSRIs) Open access Yes Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32809533/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32809533/)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Irritability and anger](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-irritability-anger/)[Bloating, breast tenderness and physical symptoms](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-physical-symptoms/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[SSRIs and antidepressants](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-ssri/)[Cognitive behavioral therapy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-cbt/)[Exercise and yoga](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-exercise/)[Other herbal medicine](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-herbal-other/)

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.

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