Skip to main content
All CollectionsAbout PMDDGeneral Information about PMDD
How long has the medical community recognized PMDD? How is it classified (mental illness, hormonal imbalance, genetic)?
How long has the medical community recognized PMDD? How is it classified (mental illness, hormonal imbalance, genetic)?

Keywords: History of PMDD. DSM. ICD-11. Hormone imbalance. Hormone sensitivity. Gene expression. Psychiatry. Gynecology.

IAPMD avatar
Written by IAPMD
Updated over 3 years ago

PMDD has been recognized and studied as a phenomenon for a while in the medical community, but it has really been fully accepted as a psychiatric disorder in America in DSM-5, which came out in 2013. We talk about it as a psychiatric disorder because the symptoms are expressed through the brain and behavior. The generally-agreed-upon cause is abnormal brain sensitivity to normal hormone changes across the menstrual cycle. 

Calling it a psychiatric disorder doesn't mean it does not have a biological basis -- there are many studies on how hormone reactivity in the brain and gene expression differ in females with PMDD. 

Did this answer your question?