Objective: To determine the frequency of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) in female medical students, and to compare the quality of life between those with and without PMDD.
Study design: Descriptive Study. Place and Duration of the Study: Fatima Jinnah Medical University, Lahore, from November 2019 to April 2020.
Methodology: The study included 635 female medical students from the third year to the final year of MBBS. Quality of life was measured by using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief (WHOQOL-BREF) Scale and PMDD was diagnosed as per DSM-V Diagnostic criteria. Data were entered and analysed by IBM SPSS version 23.0. Scores of 4 domains of the WHOQOL-BREF scale were compared between the female medical students with and without PMDD. A p-value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Significant proportion i.e., 12.1% (77) out of 635 female medical students had PMDD. There was a significant difference in the physical and psychological domains scores of the WHOQOL-BREF scale between healthy students and students with PMDD (p-value <0.001).
Conclusion: The physical and Psychological aspects of quality of life are significantly lower in female medical students with PMDD.
Key words: WHOQOL-BREF, Premenstrual dysphoric disorder, Female medical students.