The incidence of premenstrual tension in a gynecologic clinic.

A menstrual symptom questionnaire was used to assess the incidence of premenstrual tension (PMT) in 1,395 regularly menstruating women not on hormonal contraceptives or any other hormonal therapy during routine visits to a gynecologic clinic. Nineteen symptoms were divided into four PMT subgroups: PMT-A (anxiety, irritability, mood swings, nervous tension), PMT-H (weight gain, swelling of extremities, breast tenderness, abdominal bloating), PMT-C (headache, craving for sweets, increased appetite, heart pounding, fatigue and dizziness or fainting) and PMT-D (depression, forgetfulness, crying, confusion, insomnia). The ages of the patients ranged from 13 to 54 years, with a mean +/- S.D. of 32 +/- 8.5 years. Using strict criteria for PMT, 702 patients scored positive for at least one subgroup of PMT, giving an incidence of 50%. When the patients were divided into five-year age groups, a peak incidence of 60% was observed in the third decade of life. The most common PMT subgroups were PMT-A and PMT-H, occurring either alone or in combination. The least common subgroup was PMT-D, occurring in only 12 patients and by itself. The mean cycle length in pure PMT-D patients was significantly shorter (p less than 0.05) than in patients without PMT.