Am J Psychiatry 1986; 143:1436-1439
Copyright © 1986 by American Psychiatric Association
Premenstrual symptoms in black and white community samples
AL Stout, TA Grady, JF Steege, DG Blazer, LK George and ML Melville
Premenstrual syndrome specialty clinics are reported to be almost
exclusively attended by white women. This racial discrepancy has raised the
question of whether there is a lower prevalence or severity of symptoms
during the premenstruum among black women. The authors evaluated selected
premenstrual symptoms in a representative community- based sample and found
no difference in the prevalence or severity of premenstrual symptoms
reported by black and white women, except for a higher prevalence of food
cravings among blacks. Exploration of broader sociocultural factors may
explain the observed racial difference in seeking help for premenstrual
complaints.
