Association of Premenstrual Symptoms with Premenstrual Syndrome

Abstract

Background: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) occurs 7–14 days before the onset of menstruation and subsides with the commencement of menstrual flow, it affects women during their reproductive age, and is associated with physical, psychological, and behavioral changes of varying severity and can interfere with the lives of the affected, as well as their interpersonal relationships. Study to follow the menstrual cycle of females and study the association between self-reported symptoms and Premenstrual Syndrome and find sensitivity and specificity of premenstrual symptoms. Materials and Methods: An observational follow-up study was conducted from December 2014 to June 2015 in 250 college-going females (18–25 years) using a self-reporting Modified Daily Record of Severity of Problems questionnaire. Data were analyzed using IBM, SPSS statistics software version 16.0. Results: PMS was associated with some psychological and physical premenstrual symptoms. Multiple logistic regression showed that symptoms made no significant contribution to PMS. The highest sensitivity and lowest sensitivity were 29.8% (general body discomfort) and 2.4% (diarrhea/constipation), respectively. Whereas the highest and lowest specificity was 96.8% (diarrhea/constipation) and 82.4% (swollen extremity), respectively. Conclusion: PMS was found to be associated with some psychological and physical premenstrual symptoms. None of the symptoms in the present study were highly sensitive and specific at the same time. However, a few symptoms that have high specificity but low sensitivity could be better used in ruling the diagnosis of PMS in the study participants rather than detecting likely PMS. So, more systematic research is required to assess the sensitivity and specificity of these symptoms in order to improve the screening instrument.