Predictors of premenstrual impairment among women undergoing prospective assessment for premenstrual dysphoric disorder: a cycle-level analysis
Background: Women who experience significant premenstrual symptoms differ in the extent to which these symptoms cause cyclical impairment. This study clarifies the type and number of symptoms that best predict premenstrual impairment in a sample of women undergoing prospective assessment for premens...
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2017 Feb 14
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| In: |
Psychological medicine
Year: 2017, Volume: 47, Issue: 9, Pages: 1585-1596 |
| ISSN: | 1469-8978 |
| DOI: | 10.1017/S0033291716003524 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, Volltext: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0033291716003524 Verlag, Volltext: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5486218/ 
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| Author Notes: | Katja M. Schmalenberger, Tory A. Eisenlohr-Moul, Pallavi Surana, David R. Rubinow, Susan S. Girdler |
| Summary: | Background: Women who experience significant premenstrual symptoms differ in the extent to which these symptoms cause cyclical impairment. This study clarifies the type and number of symptoms that best predict premenstrual impairment in a sample of women undergoing prospective assessment for premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) in a research setting. Central research goals were to determine (1) which emotional, psychological, and physical symptoms of PMDD are uniquely associated with premenstrual impairment, and (2) how many cyclical symptoms optimally predict the presence of a clinically significant premenstrual elevations of impairment. Methods: 267 naturally cycling women recruited for retrospective report of premenstrual emotional symptoms completed daily symptom reports using the Daily Record of Severity of Problems (DRSP) and occupational, recreational, and relational impairment for 1-4 menstrual cycles (N = 563 cycles). Results: Multilevel regression revealed that emotional, psychological, and physical symptoms differ in their associations with impairment. The core emotional symptoms of PMDD were predictors of impairment, but not after accounting for psychological symptoms, which were the most robust predictors. The optimal number of premenstrual symptoms for predicting clinically significant premenstrual impairment was four. Conclusion: Results enhance our understanding of the type and number of premenstrual symptoms associated with premenstrual impairment among women being evaluated for PMDD in research contexts. Additional work is needed to determine whether cognitive symptoms should receive greater attention in the study of PMDD, and to revisit the usefulness of the five-symptom diagnostic threshold. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 15.05.2018 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1469-8978 |
| DOI: | 10.1017/S0033291716003524 |