RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A survey of paramenstrual complaints by covert and by overt methods
JF The Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
JO J R Coll Gen Pract
FD British Journal of General Practice
SP 496
OP 499
VO 36
IS 292
A1 R.J. Taylor
A1 D.A. Alexander
A1 I.D. Fordyce
YR 1986
UL http://bjgp.org/content/36/292/496.abstract
AB A covert method of assessing perception of health in relation to menstruation was applied prospectively to a group of women aged 20 to 40 years. Of the 1386 randomly selected women contacted, 838 (60%) provided information for the full study period of six weeks and 608 of these respondents menstruated during that time. A clear excess of women demonstrated premenstrual deterioration in perceived health. This rose to a peak at the onset of menstruation and subsided rapidly during menstruation, thus reflecting the conventionally defined pattern of the premenstrual syndrome. When, on completion of prospective recording, the same women were asked to return an overt and retrospective assessment of paramenstrual symptoms, the overall pattern of results was similar but, for individual women, there was little correspondence between similar data obtained by the two different methods.