A school-based survey of premenstrual dysphoric disorder-relationship with depression, anxiety, self-esteem and quality of life

Introduction: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a severe and debilitating form of Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) affecting women in their reproductive age. There is paucity of Indian research in this area among adolescents. Aims: To determine the prevalence of PMDD in adolescent school students, and to study relationship between PMDD and anxiety, depression, self-esteem and quality of life (QOL). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 100 adolescent students of an urban school. The Premenstrual symptom screening tool for adolescents (PSST-A), Hamilton anxiety (HAM-A) and Depression (HAM-D) Scale, Rosenberg self esteem scale (RSES) and The women’s quality of life questionnaire were employed. Results: All participants reported at least one PMS symptom of minimal severity and 68% had at least one PMS symptom of moderate-severe intensity. Twenty five percent of the participants had ‘moderate-to severe’ PMS. None of the participants qualified for PMDD. Disruption of daily activities was reported by 35% while 22% missed school due to PMS. A statistically significant relationship was found between PSST scores and HAM-D score (p Conclusion: Although PMS and PMDD pose a difficulty, majority of adolescents do not have significant anxiety, experience positive self-esteem and good quality of life. There is a need for multi-centric and multi-disciplinary research to further elucidate the factors associated with PMS and PMDD in this population. Keywords: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder, Premenstrual symptoms, Adolescents, Depression, Anxiety, Self-esteem, Quality of life.