Clinical diagnostic criteria for premenstrual syndrome and guidelines for their quantification for research studies, Gynecological Endocrinology, Informa Healthcare

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Clinical diagnostic criteria for premenstrual syndrome and guidelines for their quantification for research studies

2007, Vol. 23, No. 3 , Pages 123-130 (doi:10.1080/09513590601167969)

Uriel Halbreich¹ ^†, Torbjorn Backstrom², Elias Eriksson³, Shawn O'Brien⁴, Helena Calil⁵, Eva Ceskova⁶, Lorraine Dennerstein⁷, Saida Douki⁸, Ellen Freeman⁹, Andrea Genazzani¹⁰, Isabella Heuser¹¹, Nadia Kadri¹², Andrea Rapkin¹³, Meir Steiner¹⁴, Hans-Ulrich Wittchen¹⁵ and Kimberly Yonkers¹⁶

¹Departments of Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynecology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA, and World Psychiatric Association, Section on Interdisciplinary Collaboration

²Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Umea Neurosteroid Research Center, Department of Clinical Sciences, Norrland University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden

³Department of Pharmacology and Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Sahlgrenska Academy, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden

⁴Academic Unit of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Keele University Medical School, Stoke-on-Trent and Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, UK

⁵Department of Psychobiology, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

⁶Department of Psychiatry of the Medical Faculty, Masaryk University and Faculty Hospital, Brno, Czech Republic

⁷Department of Psychiatry, Office for Gender and Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

⁸Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Hospital Razi, Tunis, Tunisia

⁹Departments of Ob/Gyn and Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

¹⁰Division of Gynecology and Obstetrics ‘P. Fioretti’, S. Chiara Hospital, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

¹¹Department of Psychiatry, Charité– University Medicine, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany

¹²Department of Psychiatry, Ibn Rushd University Psychiatric Centre, Casablanca, Morocco

¹³Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA

¹⁴Departments of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences and Obstetrics & Gynecology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

¹⁵Technical University of Dresden Institute of Clinical Psychology and Max-Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany

¹⁶Departments of Psychiatry, Ob/Gyn, Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

^†Correspondence: Uriel Halbreich, State University of New York at Buffalo, Hayes Annex ‘C’– Suite 1, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, 14214, USA, 1 716 829 3808, 1 716 829 3812 urielh@buffalo.edu

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) encompasses a variety of symptoms appearing during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Although PMS is widely recognized, the etiology remains unclear and it lacks definitive, universally accepted diagnostic criteria. To address these issues an international multidisciplinary group of experts evaluated the current definitions and diagnostic criteria of PMS and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Following extensive correspondence, a consensus meeting was held with the aim of producing updated diagnostic criteria for PMS and guidelines for clinical and research applications. This report presents the conclusions and recommendations of the group. It is hoped that the criteria proposed by the group will become widely accepted and eventually be incorporated into the next edition of the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). It is also hoped that the proposed guidelines for quantification of criteria will be used by clinicians and investigators to facilitate diagnostic uniformity in the field as well as adequate treatment modalities when warranted.