Cohort study, 2002
How common is PMDD and does it stick around?
PMDD affects 5.8% of young women and tends to persist. Most women with PMDD also have anxiety or other mental health conditions, use healthcare more, and have higher suicide rates.
What they did
Researchers followed 1488 women aged 14-24 for 48 months (1251 completed follow-up), using diagnostic interviews to check for PMDD and other mental disorders.
What they found
5.8% had PMDD at baseline, 5.3% when depression cases were excluded. An additional 18.6% had near-threshold PMDD. Only 7.4% had PMDD at any point during lifetime follow-up. PMDD was stable with less than 10% remission. Comorbidity was high: 47.4% also had anxiety disorders, 22.9% mood disorders, 28.4% somatoform disorders. Only 26.5% had no other mental disorder. High rates of nicotine dependence and PTSD. Women with PMDD had more impairment days, higher healthcare use, and more suicide attempts.
What it means for you
PMDD is real and moderately common in young women, tends to persist, and usually comes with other mental health issues. Women with PMDD have higher suicide risk. A key limitation is that the study did not use daily symptom ratings, which standard diagnostic criteria require.
5.8%
prevalence of PMDD at baseline
47.4%
also have anxiety disorders
7.4%
lifetime incidence
About the study
- Original title
- Prevalence, incidence and stability of premenstrual dysphoric disorder in the community
- Authors
- Wittchen H -U, Becker E, Lieb R et al.
- Journal
- Psychological medicine
- Year
- 2002
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Participants
- 1,251
- What was tested
- None
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1017/s0033291701004925
Topics
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