The Psychobiology of Premenstrual Syndromes: The Michigan Studies

Among adult women, the incidence and prevalence of depression, excessive anxiety, and related behavioral disturbances are disproportionately high. Sex differences and the epidemiology of depression have been reviewed to highlight this point (Weissman & Klerman, 1977). In every age group studied to date, at least a 2:1 female-to-male ratio of depression was found, and the incidence in community surveys is even more skewed toward women, with the ratio being as high as 4:1. These differences are conceptually and statistically significant and seem to be consistent between surveys (Robins, Helzer, Weissman, Orvaschel, Gruenberg, Burke, & Regier, 1984).