Symptom cyclicity in women with the premenstrual syndrome: an 8-year follow-up study

Does premenstrual tension (PMT) change with time? In 1982 and again in 1990, nine women with the premenstrual syndrome kept a daily record of eight psychological and five physical symptoms for three menstrual cycles. Urine samples were collected once or twice weekly for the analysis of pregnanediol. Premenstrual tension was estimated by Fourier analysis. By 1990, all the women continued to menstruate at regular intervals and there was little change in either PMT prevalence or in mean PMT severity (ANOVA, p = 0.43 for psychological symptoms and 0.52 for physical symptoms). It is concluded that age-related changes in PMT may be trivial.