Premenstrual syndromes defined by symptom-sets.

An analysis is made of the pattern of presenting premenstrual symptoms in randomly selected general practice patients from the Wellington region, New Zealand. Participants, 1826 healthy women 16-54 years old whose characteristics were reasonably representative of the adult female population, were asked about their general, obstetrical and gynaecological health. For the 1456 women who had menstruated within the last month or so, detailed questions were asked about the last menstrual cycle. Each woman was assigned to one of seven premenstrual symptom sets. Three groups had 'pure' symptoms, ie a predominant single symptom (breast tenderness, bloating or irritability). Three groups had 'mixed' symptom-sets. The largest of the 'mixed' groups was formed by the women who reported breast tenderness, bloating and irritability together with tension and depression. Women in this group were most likely to rate their symptomatology as severe. The last group contains a large number of women with miscellaneous symptoms. Characteristics of these groups are outlined. The study highlights the importance of distinguishing among premenstrual syndromes as this can foster more effective clinical management.

The relationship between sickness absence from work and pattern of cigarette smoking.

In four worksites of 1248 employees, 907 were found who had worked for the employer for 12 months or more and had had a preemployment medical examination. Nonsmokers were absent from work for sickness reasons less often than smokers (3.1 hours per month compared with 3.6 for women, 3.5 compared with 3.9 for men). Among smokers who reported the amount smoked heavier smokers claimed more sickness absence than less heavy smokers. Smokers reporting one pack or more per day had twice the sickness absence of smokers who smoked half a pack or less per day. The results support other studies which show higher relative risk for sickness absence among smokers than among nonsmokers.

Treatment of premenstrual symptoms in Wellington women.

A survey of 1826 women in the Wellington region was carried out. Participants were asked about their general and gynaecological health, as well as detailed questions about their last menstrual cycle. The majority (1456) had had a menstrual period within the last month or so. Eighty five percent of these women noted premenstrual symptoms of some kind, and were asked about a variety of self-help measures, and medical help, for these, and whether the advice and/or treatment was in fact helpful. Nine hundred and ninety women had tried self-help while four hundred and sixteen had sought medical help. The most commonly tried self-help measures were exercise, rest and vitamin B6. Half the women had tried each of these. Overall, there was a marked placebo response, but exercise, rest and keeping a written diary of symptoms were all helpful in over eighty percent of those who tried them. Doctors offered a wide range of treatments, including vitamin B6, diuretics, oral contraceptives and mefanamic acid, but the effect of these was difficult to evaluate further. When the sample was subdivided into clusters of women who shared similar symptoms, significant differences in the effectiveness of different self help measures emerged. Four different premenstrual syndromes are suggested: PMS-breast, PMS-bloat, PMS-irritable and intolerant, and PMS-various.

The cost of cigarette smoking in New Zealand.

Attributable risks of mortality and morbidity occasioned by current or past cigarette smoking are applied to recent mortality and hospital morbidity data. The 1981 census data on smoking, the hospital discharge data from 1984 and mortality since 1980 are analysed showing that 1 in 5 deaths of men aged 15 to 60 can be attributed to smoking, as can 1 in 9 deaths of women 15 to 60. In all 4137 deaths per year are attributable to smoking. Each year 4815 years of working life (15 to 60) are lost due to cigarette smoking induced premature mortality. Excess hospital use caused by cigarette smoking is estimated to cost more than $81 million (in 1986 dollars).

The prevalence of premenstrual symptoms in Wellington women.

A survey of 1826 women in the Wellington region was carried out. Participants were asked about their general and gynaecological health and their menstrual, contraceptive and obstetric history. Detailed questions were asked about the menstruating women's last menstrual cycle. Subjects were premenopausal women attending a random sample of general practice surgeries for any reason. The achieved sample is not intended as a cross-section of the Wellington community, but is nevertheless reasonably representative of the general adult female population aged 20 to 45. Most women volunteered one or more premenstrual symptoms; and about half of the women said these symptoms were such that they affected their lives.

Contraceptive use and pregnancy planning in the Hutt Valley.

This survey, carried out in an area where there are good family planning services, demonstrates that such surveys can be successfully carried out in New Zealand where so far there is little data on contraceptive practice and pregnancy planning. This article compares failure rates of several contraceptive methods and shows that most women in the survey sample had had some experience in contraception during the previous three years. Pregnancy planning overall is seen as poor, with 29.9 percent of all pregnancies being unwanted at the time of conception.