Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is a common health problem in women in reproductive age. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of PMS using meta-analysis method. METHODS: This meta-analysis systematically reviewed the prevalence of PMS. A search was conducted using keywords Premenstrual Syndrome, PMS, prevalence PMS and symptom of PMS in reliable English articles. The initial search 53 articles were available. After review of full-text articles, 17 articles were selected for analysis. Data were combined using meta-analysis (random effects model). Data were analyzed using STATA software, Version 11.1 RESULTS: Overall, 17 studies met our inclusion criteria. The pooled prevalence of PMS was 47.8 (95 CI: 32.6-62.9). The lowest and highest prevalence were reported in France 12 (95 CI: 11-13) and Iran 98 (95 CI: 97-100) respectively. However, meta-regression scatter plot showed an increasing trend in the prevalence of PMS during 1996-2011 but correlation between prevalence of PMS and year of study was not significance (p= 0.797). INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: Considering that different tools have been used in studies and many studies have been designed based on a limited sample, therefore, future research needs to consider the prevalence of PMS in different countries of world.