Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: Recognition and Treatment

The formal medical description of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and the more severe, related diagnosis of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) goesback at least 70 years to a paper presented at the NewYork Academy of Medicine by Robert T. Frank titled”Hormonal Causes of Premenstrual Tension.” The specific term premenstrual syndrome appears to date froman article published in 1953 by Dalton and Green in theBritish Medical Journal.¹Since then, PMS has been acontinuous presence in our popular culture, occupying aplace that is larger than the research attention accorded itas a medical diagnosis.