Table 4.
Major Characteristics of Controlled Trials in Women with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)
| Category of Intervention | First Author | Sample Size | Setting | Intervention and Control | Duration | Major Qualitative Result(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSRI therapy | Dimmock17 (synthesis of 15 RCTs) | 904 Total (15 trials) | Primarily university settings or specialty PMDD clinics | Variable dosage | Majority of included trials were 2–3 menstrual cycles in duration | Statistically and clinically significant improvement in psychological and physical symptoms for active treatment |
| 364 Sertraline (5 studies) | 11 trials continuous daily dosing | |||||
| 398 Fluoxetine (7 studies) | ||||||
| 69 Citalopram (1 study) | 4 trials luteal phase only dosing | |||||
| 53 Paroxetine (1 study) | ||||||
| 20 Fluvoxamine (1 study) | ||||||
| Halbreich27 | 281 | Unclear | Sertraline 50–100 mg/d (continuous) vs placebo | 3 menstrual cycles | Statistically significant improvement in premenstrual symptoms when compared with placebo | |
| Non-SSRI pharmacotherapy | Freeman28 | 157 | Unclear | Venlafaxine 50–200 mg/d (continuous) vs placebo | 4 menstrual cycles | Statistically and clinically significant improvement in depressive symptoms compared with placebo |
| Freeman28 | 168 | University | Progesterone (intravaginal), 400–800 mg/d (luteal phase only) vs placebo | 2 menstrual cycles | No difference in depressive symptoms compared with placebo | |
| Rausch30 | 16 | Unclear | Atenolol, 50 mg/day (luteal) | 1 menstrual cycle | No significant improvement in symptom rating scales when compared with placebo | |
| Sundblad31 | 40 | Unclear | Clomipramine 25–75 mg/d (continuous) vs placebo | 3 menstrual cycles | Statistically and clinically significant improvement in daily symptom rating scales and global improvement rating when compared with placebo | |
| Sundblad32 | 29 | Unclear | Clomipramine 25–75 mg/d (luteal phase only) vs placebo | 3 menstrual cycles | Statistically and clinically significant improvement in daily symptom rating scales and global improvement rating when compared with placebo | |
| Harrison33 | 30 | Unclear | Alprazolam 1–4 mg/d (luteal) vs placebo | 3 menstrual cycles | Statistically significant improvement in daily symptom rating scales and global improvement rating when compared with placebo | |
| Berger34 | 48 | Unclear | Alprazolam 0.5–3 mg/day (continuous) vs placebo | 3 menstrual cycles | Statistically significant improvement in primarily anxiety cluster symptoms on daily symptom rating scales when compared with placebo | |
| Bright-light therapy | Lam29 | 14 | Unclear | Cool-white fluorescent light 30 min/d (luteal phase only) vs placebo (red fluorescent light) | 2 menstrual cycles | “Significant improvement” in prospective luteal phase symptom scores when compared to placebo |
SSRI, serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors; RCT, randomized controlled trial.