Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is believed to be a severe, disabling form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), thought to occur in about 5 percent of women in their reproductive years.
When five or more of the following symptoms regularly occur prior to menstruation and recede or cease with or after menstruation, PMDD may be the diagnosis: sadness/despair, tension/anxiety, panic, mood swings, irritability/anger, trouble concentrating, fatigue, insomnia, sensation of loss of control, physical symptoms (breasts swelling, abdominal bloating, headaches).
Current research points to a predisposition, possibly inheritable, that may be altered by a woman's hormonal cycle (although no overall differences in reproductive hormone levels have been found in research comparing women with and without PMDD).
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