title: Premenstrual symptoms in black and white community samples.
abstract: Premenstrual syndrome specialty clinics are reported to be almost exclusively attended by white women. This racial discrepancy has raised the question of whether there is a lower prevalence or severity of symptoms during the premenstruum among black women. The authors evaluated selected premenstrual symptoms in a representative community-based sample and found no difference in the prevalence or severity of premenstrual symptoms reported by black and white women, except for a higher prevalence of food cravings among blacks. Exploration of broader sociocultural factors may explain the observed racial difference in seeking help for premenstrual complaints.
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D009657:North Carolina; D011293:Premenstrual Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*