Aims: Research shows that mood disorders and Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) commonly occur together. It has been reported that women who are diagnosed with PMS have lifetime prevalence for Major Depressive Disorder ranging from 57 % to 100 %. In this study, our aim is to identify retrospectively the prevalence of PMS in women in the first trimester of their pregnancy, and evaluate the relationship between PMS and depression.
Methods: A total of 463 women who were in the first trimester of their pregnancy were randomly selected for this study. Patients were screened for depression using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). Premenstrual Assessment Form (PDF) was used to measure the severity of PMS symptoms. A sociodemographic information sheet was completed for each patient by a psychiatrist. For analysis, the sample was divided into three clusters according to the severity of symptoms and the data was analyzed using K-means cluster analysis.
Results: In this retrospective study, the Premenstrual Assessment Form (PDF) scores of women with depressive disorder were found to be much higher than those without. According to the PDF cluster analysis, 7.4 % (n=34) of the sample had severe symptoms and were considered at-risk group since meeting the criteria for PMS.
Conclusion: Women with PMS pose a significant risk for depression and therefore should be informed about this illness and be closely monitored during pregnancy since the risk for developing depression in this period is higher.