Treatment of premenstrual dysphoria with selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors: focus on safety

Many women experience physical or mood symptoms associated with the menstrual cycle. For approximately 3 - 8% of women, the symptoms are severe enough to significantly affect social, domestic and occupational functioning. This cluster of primarily emotional and behavioural symptoms is now labelled premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Women who meet criteria for PMDD do not usually respond to conservative interventions; selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) taken either daily or intermittently are considered to be an effective first-line therapy for this population. In this paper, the authors report on the efficacy and tolerability of SSRIs that are currently recognised as the treatment of choice for PMDD.