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OBJECTIVE: To analyze the characteristics of 150 women who visited a premenstrual syndrome (PMS) clinic in a Taiwanese medical center staffed by both psychiatrists and gynecologists. METHOD: All subjects were interviewed and assessed for premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) using DSM-IV criteria, a PMS questionnaire, and the structured Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Where PMDD was suspected, subjects were followed using a daily symptom record. RESULTS: A total of 110 subjects (73%) met the ICD-10 criteria for PMS. The most common PMS symptoms were minor psychological discomfort, muscular tension, and aches or pains. For 129 subjects (86%), other concurrent psychiatric disorders were diagnosed using the MINI. Of these, 48 (37%) reported premenstrual exacerbation (PME) of a previously diagnosed psychiatric condition. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that women who complain of PMS may be at a high risk of other psychiatric dysfunction, especially mood disorder. Further, the high proportion of PME cases determined in this study suggests that further investigation is required.
Hsiao et al. (Thu,) studied this question.