Survey study, 1997
Do women with PMDD have worse symptoms in certain seasons?
Yes, clearly. Women with PMDD have much stronger seasonal patterns in their mood and symptoms than women without PMDD, with 25% to 30% reporting that seasonal worsening is a marked or severe problem.
What they did
They asked 100 women with PMDD (from a clinic) and 50 healthy women without PMDD about seasonal patterns in their mood and premenstrual symptoms using questionnaires modified to include items about seasonality of premenstrual symptoms.
What they found
Women with PMDD had significantly higher seasonal variation scores than the healthy group. 38% of women with PMDD met criteria for seasonal affective disorder compared to 8% of the healthy group. 25% of the PMDD group rated their seasonal variation in premenstrual symptoms as marked or severe, and 30% considered seasonal changes in their overall symptoms a marked or severe problem.
What it means for you
PMDD symptoms often worsen in particular seasons, which is important for planning treatment. Light therapy might help women whose PMDD worsens in darker seasons. The main limitation is that this is based on memory and self-report rather than daily tracking of symptoms.
100
Women with PMDD
38%
PMDD women with seasonal affective disorder
25%
PMDD women rating seasonal worsening as marked or severe
About the study
- Original title
- Seasonality of symptoms in women with late luteal phase dysphoric disorder
- Authors
- Maskall DD, Lam RW, Misri S et al.
- Journal
- The American journal of psychiatry
- Year
- 1997
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 50
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1176/ajp.154.10.1436
Topics
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