Randomised trial, 2005
How do PMDD symptoms start, end, and vary from cycle to cycle?
Very variably. Symptoms peak 2 days before the period on average, but timing and duration differ by 4 or more days between cycles in nearly half of women studied.
What they did
276 women with PMDD recorded their daily symptoms for two menstrual cycles before starting treatment. Researchers analyzed when symptoms started, how long they lasted, and how consistent the pattern was from cycle to cycle.
What they found
The most common moderate-to-severe symptoms were anger or irritability (76%), anxiety or tension (71%), fatigue (58%), and mood swings (58%). Average symptom scores peaked 2 days before menses. However, the day symptoms started differed by 4 or more days between cycles in 45% of women, and duration varied by 3 or more days in at least 50% of women. Between 34 and 46% continued to have moderate-to-severe symptoms even 1 day after their period started.
What it means for you
PMDD symptoms are very inconsistent from one cycle to the next for many women, which matters for timing treatments. Main limit: women were recruited for a treatment study, which may not represent all women with PMDD.
276
women studied
76%
with anger or irritability
45%
had 4+ day variation in symptom onset between cycles
About the study
- Original title
- Pretreatment pattern of symptom expression in premenstrual dysphoric disorder
- Authors
- Pearlstein T, Yonkers KA, Fayyad R et al.
- Journal
- Journal of affective disorders
- Year
- 2005
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 276
- What was tested
- Observation only - no intervention
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2004.10.004
Topics
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