Symptomatic Improvement of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder With Sertraline Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Context. —Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is an important cause of symptoms and functional impairment in menstruating women. Objective. —To evaluate the efficacy of sertraline hydrochloride for treatment of premenstrual dysphoria by measuring changes in symptom expression and functional impairment. Design. —Two screening cycles followed by 1 single-blind placebo cycle and 3 cycles of randomized, double-blind, placebo treatment. Setting. —Twelve university-affiliated outpatient psychiatry and gynecology clinics. Patients. —Of the 447 women who requested participation, 243 met criteria for premenstrual dysphoric disorder and were randomized; 200 women completed the study. Intervention. —A flexible (50-150 mg) daily dose of sertraline hydrochloride. Main Outcome Measures. —The Daily Record of Severity of Problems, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Clinical Global Impression Scale, and Social Adjustment Scale. Results. —Mean (±SD) total daily symptom scores decreased significantly (P Conclusions. —Sertraline was significantly better than placebo for treatment of premenstrual dysphoria as reflected by symptomatic improvement and change in reported functional impairment. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as sertraline are useful therapeutic options for women with premenstrual dysphoria.

[1]  D. Murphy,et al.  Fluoxetine in the Treatment of Premenstrual Dysphoria , 1997, Neuropsychopharmacology.

[2]  M. Fava,et al.  A placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial comparing sertraline and imipramine for the treatment of dysthymia. , 1996, Archives of general psychiatry.

[3]  C. Gullion,et al.  Paroxetine as a treatment for premenstrual dysphoric disorder , 1996 .

[4]  K. Rickels,et al.  A double-blind trial of oral progesterone, alprazolam, and placebo in treatment of severe premenstrual syndrome. , 1995, JAMA.

[5]  G. Fink,et al.  Estrogen increases the density of 5-Hydroxytryptamine2A receptors in cerebral cortex and nucleus accumbens in the female rat , 1995, The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

[6]  D. Streiner,et al.  Fluoxetine in the Treatment of Premenstrual Dysphoria , 1995 .

[7]  E. Eriksson,et al.  The Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Paroxetin Is Superior to the Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitor Maprotiline in the Treatment of Premenstrual Syndrome , 1995, Neuropsychopharmacology.

[8]  T. Oei,et al.  Correlates of premenstrual dysphoria in help-seeking women. , 1995, Journal of affective disorders.

[9]  C. Berger,et al.  Alprazolam in the Treatment of Two Subsamples of Patients With Late Luteal Phase Dysphoric Disorder: A Double‐Blind, Placebo‐Controlled Crossover Study , 1994, Obstetrics and gynecology.

[10]  J. Bancroft,et al.  The premenstrual syndrome--a reappraisal of the concept and the evidence. , 1994, Psychological medicine.

[11]  E. Eriksson,et al.  Clomipramine Administered during the Luteal Phase Reduces the Symptoms of Premenstrual Syndrome: A Placebo-Controlled Trial , 1993, Neuropsychopharmacology.

[12]  D. Rubinow,et al.  Alprazolam in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome. A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. , 1993, Archives of general psychiatry.

[13]  U. Halbreich,et al.  Altered Serotonergic Activity in Women with Dysphoric Premenstrual Syndromes , 1993, International journal of psychiatry in medicine.

[14]  S. H. Wood,et al.  Treatment of Premenstrual Syndrome With Fluoxetine: A Double‐Blind, Placebo‐Controlled, Crossover Study , 1992, Obstetrics and gynecology.

[15]  A. Rapkin,et al.  The role of serotonin in premenstrual syndrome. , 1992, Clinical obstetrics and gynecology.

[16]  G. Spears,et al.  Fluoxetine treatment of severe premenstrual syndrome. , 1992, BMJ.

[17]  M Davies,et al.  The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID). II. Multisite test-retest reliability. , 1992 .

[18]  B. Sherwin,et al.  A prospective treatment study of premenstrual symptoms using a triphasic oral contraceptive. , 1992, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[19]  V. Caillard,et al.  Sertraline in the Prevention of Depression , 1992, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[20]  E. Eriksson,et al.  Clomipramine effectively reduces premenstrual irritability and dysphoria: a placebo‐controlled trial , 1992, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica.

[21]  R. Burnet,et al.  Premenstrual Syndrome and Spironolactone , 1991, The Australian & New Zealand journal of obstetrics & gynaecology.

[22]  R. London,et al.  Effect of a nutritional supplement on premenstrual symptomatology in women with premenstrual syndrome: a double-blind longitudinal study. , 1991, Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

[23]  W. Brown,et al.  Fluoxetine in the treatment of late luteal phase dysphoric disorder. , 1991, The Journal of clinical psychiatry.

[24]  T M Itil,et al.  Antidepressant efficacy of sertraline: a double-blind, placebo- and amitriptyline-controlled, multicenter comparison study in outpatients with major depression. , 1990, The Journal of clinical psychiatry.

[25]  E. Frank,et al.  Prevalence of axis I and axis II disorders in women with late luteal phase dysphoric disorder. , 1990, Journal of affective disorders.

[26]  R. Gleason,et al.  d‐Fenfluramine suppresses the increased calorie and carbohydrate intakes and improves the mood of women with premenstrual depression , 1990, Obstetrics and gynecology.

[27]  D. Battistutta,et al.  Evening primrose oil and treatment of premenstrual syndrome , 1990, The Medical journal of Australia.

[28]  K. Rickels,et al.  Ineffectiveness of progesterone suppository treatment for premenstrual syndrome. , 1990 .

[29]  J. Endicott,et al.  Treatment of premenstrual dysphoria with alprazolam. A controlled study. , 1990, Archives of general psychiatry.

[30]  J. Endicott,et al.  Characteristics of women seeking treatment for premenstrual syndrome. , 1989, Psychosomatics.

[31]  P. Schnurr,et al.  The Effects of Vitamin B6 Supplementation on premenstrual Symptoms , 1987, Obstetrics and gynecology.

[32]  J. Rinehart,et al.  Treatment of Premenstrual Syndrome With Alprazolam: Results of a DoGble‐Blind, Placebo Controlled, Randomized Crossover Clinical Trial , 1987, Obstetrics and gynecology.

[33]  L. George,et al.  Comparison of Lifetime Psychiatric Diagnoses in Premenstrual Syndrome Clinic and Community Samples , 1986, The Journal of nervous and mental disease.

[34]  Jacob Cohen,et al.  Premenstrual changes: patterns and correlates of daily ratings. , 1986, Journal of affective disorders.

[35]  L. Snyder,et al.  Serotonergic and noradrenergic receptors in the rat brain: modulation by chronic exposure to ovarian hormones. , 1983, Life sciences.

[36]  N. Woods,et al.  Prevalene of perimenstrual symptoms. , 1982, American journal of public health.

[37]  M. Weissman,et al.  SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT BY SELF‐REPORT IN A COMMUNITY SAMPLE AND IN PSYCHIATRIC OUTPATIENTS , 1978, The Journal of nervous and mental disease.

[38]  M. Weissman,et al.  Assessment of social adjustment by patient self-report. , 1976, Archives of general psychiatry.

[39]  M. Hamilton.  A RATING SCALE FOR DEPRESSION , 1960, Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

[40]  P. Schnurr,et al.  Late luteal phase dysphoric disorder in 670 women evaluated for premenstrual complaints. , 1992, The American journal of psychiatry.

[41]  I. Vellacott,et al.  A double-blind, placebo-controlled evaluation of spironolactone in the premenstrual syndrome. , 1987, Current medical research and opinion.