Toward a construct of perimenstrual distress

Area of Science:

• Women's Health
• Reproductive Health
• Psychological Distress

Background:

• Traditional views separate premenstrual and menstrual symptoms.
• Emerging research suggests overlap in perimenstrual distress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of menstrual distress in a community sample.
• To investigate if perimenstrual distress can be treated as a single construct.

Main Methods:

• Survey of 193 nonpregnant women aged 18-35.
• Utilized the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MDQ).

Main Results:

• Over 30% reported common symptoms like weight gain, irritability, and cramps.
• Significant symptom overlap was observed between premenstrual and menstrual phases.
• Differences between phases were small for most symptoms, except cramps, weight gain, and fatigue.

Conclusions:

• Perimenstrual distress symptoms show high correlation between phases.
• Viewing perimenstrual distress as a single construct is justifiable.
• Further research can explore this unified construct.