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The prevalence of premenstrual dysphoric disorder in a randomly selected group of urban and rural women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2008

S. Gehlert ,
I. H. Song ,
C.-H. Chang  and
S. A. Hartlage
S. Gehlert*
Affiliation:
Center for Interdisciplinary Health Disparities Research, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
I. H. Song
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York, USA
C.-H. Chang
Affiliation:
Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
S. A. Hartlage
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: S. Gehlert, Ph.D., School of Social Service Administration, The University of Chicago, 969 East Sixtieth Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) was included as a provisional diagnostic category in the appendices of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-III-R (then called late luteal phase dysphoric disorder) and remained as an appendix in DSM-IV. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence of PMDD using all four DSM-IV research diagnostic criteria in a representative sample of women of reproductive age in the United States.

Method

Data were collected in the homes of women between the ages of 13 and 55 years in two urban and two rural sites using a random sampling procedure developed by the National Opinion Research Center. Women completed daily symptom questionnaires and provided urine specimens each day for two consecutive ovulatory menstrual cycles (ovulation was estimated for women taking oral contraceptives) and were screened for psychiatric disorders by trained interviewers. Symptoms were counted toward a diagnosis of PMDD if they worsened significantly during the late luteal week during two consecutive ovulatory menstrual cycles, occurred on days in which women reported marked interference with functioning, and were not due to another mental disorder.

Results

In the final analysis, 1246 women who had had at least one menstrual cycle and were neither naturally nor surgically menopausal nor pregnant were selected. Of the women in the study, 1.3% met criteria for the diagnosis as defined in DSM-IV.

Conclusions

The prevalence of PMDD is considerably lower than DSM-IV estimates and all but one of the estimates obtained from previous studies when all DSM-IV diagnostic criteria are considered. We suggest a new process for diagnosing PMDD based on our findings.

Keywords

Premenstrual dysphoric disorderprevalence
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 39 , Issue 1 , January 2009 , pp. 129 - 136
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Cambridge University Press

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