Related Experiment Videos
Premenstrual symptoms and perimenopausal depression.
Misty Richards1, David R Rubinow, Robert C Daly
1Behavioral Endocrinology Branch, NIMH, NIH, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, USA.
The American Journal of Psychiatry
|January 5, 2006
Summary
Perimenopausal depression may involve premenstrual mood symptoms, but not all depressed perimenopausal women experience them. Symptom severity and cyclicity varied, and premenstrual dysphoria was not always present or predicted by initial self-reports.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Psychiatry
- Women's Health
- Mood Disorders
Background:
- Premenstrual dysphoria (PMDD) and perimenopausal depression share potential links to ovarian steroid fluctuations.
- Investigating shared symptomatology is crucial for understanding these conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate premenstrual mood symptoms in women experiencing perimenopausal depression.
- To determine the prevalence of menses-related symptom cyclicity and PMDD in this population.
Main Methods:
- Compared 70 depressed perimenopausal women with 35 non-depressed controls.
- Utilized self-reports and daily symptom ratings over one menstrual cycle.
Main Results:
- 26% of depressed women reported premenstrual symptoms, compared to 9% of controls.
- 31% of depressed women showed significant menses-related symptom cyclicity (vs. 20% of controls).
- 21% of depressed women met criteria for premenstrual dysphoria (vs. 3% of controls).
Conclusions:
- Perimenopausal depression is associated with a higher rate of menses-related symptom cyclicity and PMDD.
- These premenstrual symptoms are not universally present in all perimenopausal depressed women.
- Initial self-reports did not predict the rate of premenstrual dysphoria.