The Impact of Premenstrual Disorders on Healthrelated Quality of Life (HRQOL)

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of premenstrual symptoms on health related quality of life (HRQOL) in a sample of Iranian women. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a sample of women aged 15–45 years, who lived in Tehran were randomly recruited according to demographic questionnaire. For diagnosing the premenstrual dysphoric disorder and premenstrual syndrome, Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST) was used in this study. The Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), and the Premenstrual Symptoms Impact Survey (PMSIS) were administered to evaluate health-related quality of life. Results: Among 430 women, 44% had PMS, 16% met the diagnostic criteria for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and 40% were in General Population (GP) group. The SF-36 scores showed that in all dimensions except for physical functioning there were statistically significant mean differences among the three groups. Also, women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder and PMS group had significantly different social function, validity, and mental health. Comparing the Premenstrual Symptoms Impact Survey scores between the three groups mean, scores of feeling frustration, fatigue and mood swings for the premenstrual dysphoric disorder were significantly higher than the two other groups. Conclusion: Premenstrual symptoms have significant impact on health-related quality of life assessed by SF-36 and PMSIS, specially on mental and emotional domains.