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Premenstrual symptomatology, alcohol consumption, and family history of alcoholism in women with premenstrual syndrome *.

Article Excerpt
PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME (PMS) has been recognized for more than 40 years as a cluster of emotional and physical symptoms that occurs during the luteal phase of menstruation, approximately 1 week before the start of menses, and then disappears after the onset of menstruation (Richardson, 1995). As many as 10% of all menstruating women have the syndrome (Caan et al., 1993), and approximately 5% report symptoms severe enough to interfere with work or lifestyle (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 1989). For decades, clinicians have reported a link between the menstrual cycle and alcohol use, particularly among women with high PMS severity (Podolsky, 1963). Researchers have confirmed that women who seek treatment for PMS symptoms exhibit greater frequency of alcohol use and problems (Chuong and Burgos, 1995; Halliday et al., 1986).

Family history of alcoholism (FH) is one of the strongest risk factors for alcohol problems (Cotton, 1979). McLeod and associates (1994) found that among women with PMS, significantly more of those with a family density of alcohol problems (i.e., both a first- and second-degree paternal relative with alcoholism) reported increased alcohol use during the premenstrual phase (PREM) than those without an FH. However, all women in their study were also diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD); therefore, it is unclear whether the association between PMS and family density would generalize to other nonclinical samples. Nonetheless, their results suggest an interesting dynamic between PMS symptomatology and family density of alcohol problems that should be pursued further.

The aims of the current study were to explore whether the McLeod et al. (1994) findings could be replicated in non-GAD women and to examine prospectively the relationship among alcohol consumption, PMS symptomatology, and family history of alcoholism.

Method

Subjects

Potential participants were drawn from 112 women who responded to newspaper advertisements or hospital fliers targeting women between the ages of 21 and 40 with symptoms of PMS. The current sample consists of 46 women who participated in the study for 3 months and met the following criteria: (1) were diagnosed with PMS based on a 3-month prospective assessment; (2) did not meet Diagnostic and Statistical...

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