A DESIGN FOR STUDYING THE DSM-IV RESEARCH CRITERIA OF PREMENSTRUAL DYSPHORIC DISORDER

The DSM-IV estimate that 3-5% of women have premenstrual dysphoric dis order (PMDD) is bared on studies that: used non-representative samples , did not consider all research criteria, or were retrospective. In th e present study, prospective data from a multiethnic sample of women w ere analyzed to develop an effective method of considering all DSM-IV research criteria for PMDD. One-hundred and seventeen subjects between the ages of 13 and 55 years who were neither pregnant nor menopausal were recruited from outpatient clinics at a teaching hospital for a st udy of changes in women's health through time. Daily urine samples wer e taken for two menstrual cycles, analyzed to establish phase of cycle , and correlated with daily symptom ratings, Subjects were assessed fo r psychiatric disorders. Four methods of symptom analysis were rued. P revalence rates ranging from 1.0% to 7.1% were determined that differe d according to tile method of measuring the symptom change. The group of women with PMDD did trot differ from the sample as a whole on varia bles including age, parity and birth control pill use. When all criter ia were considered as they appear in DSM-Tc: prevalence estimates of t he present study did not differ markedly from there in DSM-IV.