Dimensional (premenstrual symptoms screening tool) vs categorical (mini diagnostic interview, module U) for...

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is the constellation of physical and psychological symptoms before menstruation. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a severe form of PMS with more depressive and anxiety symptoms. The Mini international neuropsychiatric interview, module U (MINI-U), assesses the diagnostic criteria for probable PMDD. The Premenstrual Symptoms screening tool (PSST) measures the severity of these symptoms.

To compare the PSST ordinal scores with the corresponding dichotomous MINI-U answers.

Arab women (n = 194) residing in Doha, Qatar, received the MINI-U and PSST. Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analyses provided the cut-off scores on the PSST using MINI-U as a gold standard.

All PSST ratings were higher in participants with positive responses on MINI-U. In addition, ROC analyses showed that all areas under the curves were significant with the cutoff scores on PSST.

This study confirms that the severity measures from PSST can recognize patients with moderate/ severe PMS and PMDD who would benefit from immediate treatment.