Comparison of depressed and nondepressed women with severe premenstrual tension syndrome.

There is a need to better understand the relationship between premenstrual tension syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual depression. This research was designed to determine if severely depressed women experience a different kind of premenstrual dysfunction than nondepressed PMS patients. The nature and severity of premenstrual symptoms in both groups were evaluated and compared. The severely depressed women were found to have higher PMS scores, but did not differ from the nondepressed group in selection or ranking of symptoms. Depression appeared to influence the patient's perception and rating of symptoms, but the underlying premenstrual dysfunction was identical.