Influence of premenstrual syndrome on family, social life, and work performance

Premenstrual syndrome is characterized by mental and physical symptoms that vary with different phases of the menstrual cycle. Symptoms start shortly after ovulation, increase in severity, and reach a maximum during the last five premenstrual days. After the onset of menstrual bleeding, the symptoms rapidly disappear and are usually gone within three to four days. Diagnostic procedures using prospective daily symptom ratings have recently been developed, allowing a more precise diagnosis of the cyclical mood changes and leading to a clearer picture and definition of the condition. Results from community studies show that the severity of the cyclical mood changes varies within a population of women of fertile age, from those having no cyclical mood changes to those severely handicapped by the symptoms for 14 days of the month. The severity assessment of subjective symptoms is difficult since severity is difficult to compare among individuals. In this article the authors review the different approaches to estimating severity of premenstrual syndrome and compare the different approaches with approaches used for other conditions with subjective symptoms. Two possible approaches are discussed in detail. One measures symptoms by counting the number of days with and without symptoms. The other estimates how much the symptoms affect patients' family life, social life, and work performance. Differences between retrospective and prospective assessments are also discussed.