--- title: How common are PMS and PMDD in Bulgaria, and what are the main symptoms? description: PMS affects 32.1% of Bulgarian women and PMDD (the more severe form) affects 3.3%. Most symptoms are mild or moderate, with mood symptoms like irritability ab url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/prevalence-and-clinical-picture-of-premenstrual-syndrome-in-females-from-2020/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - How common are PMS and PMDD in Bulgaria, and what are the main symptoms? Survey study, 2020 # How common are PMS and PMDD in Bulgaria, and what are the main symptoms? PMS affects 32.1% of Bulgarian women and PMDD (the more severe form) affects 3.3%. Most symptoms are mild or moderate, with mood symptoms like irritability about as common as physical symptoms like bloating. Early or limited evidence 305 Bulgarian women, mean age 31 years ## What they did Researchers asked 305 Bulgarian women (mean age 31) to fill out a questionnaire about PMS symptoms based on standard diagnostic criteria. They counted how many had PMS or PMDD and identified the most common symptoms. ## What they found 32.1% of the women had PMS and 3.3% had PMDD. The most common symptoms were irritability, tiredness and changes in appetite. Women also reported mood swings, anxiety, belly bloating and breast tenderness. Most symptoms were mild or moderate rather than severe. ## What it means for you PMS is common in Bulgaria, affecting about one in three women. Mood symptoms are about as common as physical symptoms. The study was done in Bulgaria, so results may vary in other countries due to cultural and ethnic differences. 32.1% with PMS 3.3% with PMDD 305 women studied ## About the study Original title Prevalence and clinical picture of premenstrual syndrome in females from Bulgaria Authors Chumpalova P, Iakimova R, Stoimenova-Popova M et al. Journal Annals of general psychiatry Year 2020 Study design Survey study Participants 98 What was tested None Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1186/s12991-019-0255-1](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12991-019-0255-1) Original abstract Background: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and its more severe form premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) are highly prevalent conditions, but there seems to be ethnic and cultural variances in their distribution. Aims: To explore the prevalence of PMS/PMDD and their typical clinical features in a Bulgarian population. Materials and methods: This investigation was designed and executed as a cross-sectional descriptive study. Three hundred and five conveniently recruited females with no psychiatric history filled in a self-evaluation questionnaire based on DSM-IV tapping on different symptoms of PMS. The prevalence of the conditions was calculated. Results: 32.1% ( N = 98) of the tested females (mean age 31.04 ± 6.31) suffered from PMS and 3.3% ( N = 10) were diagnosed with PMDD. The leading symptoms in the sample were irritability, fatigue and changes in appetite, depressed mood, mood swings, and anxiety, and abdominal bloating, breast tension and tenderness. Most of the symptoms were moderately severe. Mild and moderate cases of PMS were near equally distributed and more frequent than severe ones. Conclusion: PMS is a common condition which is usually mildly expressed, but severe cases are not an exception. The clinical picture is dominated by almost equally distributed psychological and somatic symptoms. Reproduced under CC-BY. ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/) 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 Systematic review, 2026 Does vitamin D supplementation help PMS symptoms? Cohort study, 2025 Do women with PMS or PMDD report lower quality of life than women without these conditions? Non-randomised trial, 2008 Can the Sheehan Disability Scale measure whether treatments work? Systematic review, 2008 What treatments work best for PMS and PMDD? Review, 2003 How do menstrual cycle hormones affect the brain and cause mood disorders like PMDD? Randomised trial, 2003 Are SSRI antidepressants effective for PMDD? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗