Premenstrual Syndrome Diagnosis: A Comparative Study between the Daily Record of Severity of Problems (DRSP) and the Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST)

• Published in: Revista Brasileira de ginecologia e obstetrícia Vol. 40; no. 1; pp. 020 - 025
• Main Authors: Henz, Aline, Ferreira, Charles Francisco, Oderich, Carolina Leão, Gallon, Carin Weirich, Castro, Juliana Rintondale Sodré de, Conzatti, Maiara, Fleck, Marcelo Pio de Almeida, Wender, Maria Celeste Osório
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda 01.01.2018; Federação Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia
• Subjects: Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; diagnosis; Diagnostic Self Evaluation; Female; Humans; Middle Aged; OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY; Original; Original Article; premenstrual dysphoric disorder; premenstrual syndrome; Premenstrual Syndrome - diagnosis; questionnaire; Severity of Illness Index; signs and symptoms; Young Adult; questionário; síndrome pré-menstrual; questionnaire; signs and symptoms; diagnosis; sinais e sintomas; diagnóstico; premenstrual syndrome; premenstrual dysphoric disorder; transtorno disfórico pré-menstrual; transtorno disfórico prémenstrual; síndrome prémenstrual
• ISSN: 0100-7203; 1806-9339; 1806-9339
• DOI: 10.1055/s-0037-1608672

Abstract Objective  To validate the premenstrual symptoms screening tool (PSST) in relation to the daily record of severity of problems (DRSP) for premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) diagnoses. Methods  A cross-sectional study with 127 women (20–45 years) with PMS complaints. The women were evaluated in terms of weight, height and body mass index (BMI). After using the primary care evaluation of mental disorders (PRIME-MD) questionnaire to exclude the diagnosis of depression, the PSST was completed and the women were instructed to fill out the DRSP for two consecutive menstrual cycles. The agreement between the two questionnaires was assessed by the Kappa (k) and the prevalence-adjusted, bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK) values. Results  Two-hundred and eighty-two women met the eligibility criteria and answered the PSST. The DRSP was completed for two cycles by 127 women. The percentages of women with PMS and PMDD diagnoses by the DRSP were 74.8% and 3.9% respectively; by PSST, the percentages were41.7% and 34.6% respectively. The number of patients considered “normal” (with symptoms below the threshold for the diagnosis of PMS) was similar in both questionnaires. There was no agreement (Kappa = 0.12) in the results of PMS/ PMDD diagnosis (the PABAK coefficient confirmed this result = 0.39). The PSST had a high sensitivity (79%) and a low specificity (33.3%) for PMS/PMDD diagnosis. Conclusion  The PSST should be considered a diagnostic screening tool. Positive PMS/PMDD cases by PSST should be further evaluated by DRSP to confirm the diagnosis.