title: A simple strategy to detect significant premenstrual changes.
abstract: The prevalence of the ten most prominent premenstrual symptoms (top-ten) was calculated in Dutch women (n = 202), who considered themselves to suffer from complaints related to menstruation. Premenstrual syndrome was diagnosed where the scores of 5 or more of the top-ten symptoms showed an increase of at least 2 points (on a visual analog scale rated from 1 to 10) from day 12 to day 26 during two consecutive cycles. This diagnosis was confirmed in almost all subjects using a 'gold standard' criterion of an increase of at least 30% in complaints from the follicular phase to the luteal phase. In contrast to the latter strategy the 'top-ten' method successfully excluded women who felt free from premenstrual complaints. It is concluded that the 'top-ten' method is a simple and valid strategy to detect significant premenstrual changes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Schagen van Leeuwen
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: te Velde
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Kop
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: van der Ploeg
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Haspels
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008597:Menstrual Cycle; D011293:Premenstrual Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D013997:Time Factors