Onset of Depressive Psychiatric Crises and the Menstrual Cycle

Case records of women admitted to a psychiatric facility during an 18-month period were examined retrospectively. Earlier reports had shown higher admission frequency during the paramenstrual days than during the intervening nonparamenstrual days. The present findings indicate that depressed women, but not a comparison group of schizophrenic women, show a further striking elevation in admission frequency on 2 particular paramenstrual days (the day before & first day of flow).(DD)