Study, 2008
Should we understand PMDD only as a medical illness, or also consider gender and social factors?
The authors argue that understanding PMDD requires looking beyond just the medical view to include gender and social science perspectives, which helps us understand women's experiences more fully.
What they did
The authors reviewed how PMDD is typically described in medical journals and discussed an alternative perspective that includes gender and social science approaches. They highlighted the disconnect between how psychiatry views mental illness and how gender factors into women's suffering.
What they found
The authors found tensions in psychiatry around understanding PMDD from a gender perspective. They argue that the medical story told in journals leaves out important social and gender context that could help understand women's experiences better.
What it means for you
Including gender and social perspectives in how doctors understand PMDD may lead to better care. However, this is a discussion of perspectives rather than a clinical study, so there is no data showing how this approach would work in practice.
About the study
- Original title
- [The medicalization of feminine suffering: premenstrual dysphoric disorder]
- Authors
- Matusevich D, Pieczanski P
- Journal
- Vertex (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- Year
- 2008
- Study design
- Study
- What was tested
- No intervention tested.
- Read the paper
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19835030/
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