Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder Present in 1.6% of Women and Girls, Study Claims; What Exactly Is This Condition?

A study has revealed the prevalence of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). According to the study, roughly 1.6% of women and girls experience symptomatic PMDD.

What is Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder?

Women who have premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) experience symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), such as breast tenderness, headaches, and bloating, weeks before having their menstrual period. However, PMDD also leads to severe depression, anxiety, and mood changes. There are even people dealing with PMDD who become suicidal.

The condition is a more serious type of PMS. It leads to emotional or physical symptoms roughly one to two weeks before the period starts.

PMDD symptoms could vary for different individuals. They usually appear one to two weeks before the period and leave a few days before that tarts. People with PMDD may experience anxiety or panic attacks, irritability or anger, feeling on the edge, concentration difficulties, low energy and fatigue, depression, suicidal ideations, headaches, binge eating, food cravings, appetite changes, insomnia, and mood swings.

There are also cases where PMDD symptoms persist until menopause.

PMDD Prevalence

The study "The prevalence of premenstrual dysphoric disorder: Systematic review and meta-analysis" specifically looked into the condition's prevalence. Researchers examined global studies to see the number of girls and women that meet the condition's strict criteria.

The researchers used 50,659 female participants' data from 44 studies in six continents. According to the researchers, several illness perceptions are challenged by the data. These include normal menstrual symptom medicalization.

The data shows roughly 1.6% of these women and girls could meet the category. This rate translates to roughly 31 million girls and women worldwide.

A more significant chunk (3.2%) was found to have provisional diagnoses, wherein they are suspected of having the condition, but symptoms have not been gauged for a sustained time for them to meet the criteria for diagnosis.

According to Dr. Thomal Reilly, who is from the Department of Psychiatry at Oxford University, the proportion of affected women and girls could be more than 1.6%. He explains that due to the strictness of the diagnosis, this could be an underestimation of PMDD's lifetime prevalence. More girls and women could be undiagnosed.

Psychiatrists and medical students have minimal training regarding PMDD. Patients typically end up falling through clinical service gaps. Dr. Reilly also notes that in psychiatry, they rarely consider whether a patient's symptoms are connected with changes in hormones.

Dr. Reilly explains that enhanced training and awareness among professionals is necessary. This is necessary for patients to benefit from evidence-based and effective support and management.

Clare Knox, a co-author of the study and organizational psychologist who has also gone through PMDD, explains that the discovery of roughly 31 million females dealing with PMDD is something that cannot be overlooked, adding that the staggering figure serves as a wake-up call.