[The symptomatology and prevalence of symptoms of premenstrual syndrome in Manisa, Turkey]

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms, the frequency and severity of the symptoms, and their association with sociodemographic variables in fertile women between the ages of 15 and 49 years.

Method: The study included 541 women living in the area of the 7th Primary Health Care Center of Manisa, Turkey. Face-to-face interviews were conducted and a sociodemographic data form, a DSM-IV diagnostic criteria form, and the premenstrual evaluation form (PEF) were administered. In the analysis of the data, K-means cluster analysis was performed and cluster analysis with 3 categories according to the severity was used. In the evaluation of the 18 subscales possible maximum variation quotient is obtained by dividing the maximum possible PEF score to the scores the subjects got. In the group comparison analyses, chi-square test for the categorical variables, and t-test for continuous variables were used.

Results: Among the study group, 6.1% had severe PMS symptoms and 72.2% of these women had some dysfunction as defined by DSM-IV. The most common symptoms were feeling irritable and restless (72%), anxiety (67.3%), feeling fullness, discomfort or pain in the abdomen (66.6%), lack of energy or easily fatigued (66.6%), and fatigue in the legs (65.5%).

Conclusion: The prevalence of the risk of PMS was 6.1%. The most common and severe PMS symptoms were feeling irritable and restless.