A severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) which negatively affects a woman’s mood may be caused by a cellular disorder, according to a new study.

Women with the little understood but debilitating condition known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) are more likely to experience feelings of anxiety, sadness, and irritability in the days before their periods. Psychical symptoms include changes in appetite, cramps, bloating, headaches, hot flashes, breast tenderness, and joint and muscle pain.

Between two and five per cent of women of child-bearing age have PMDD, compared with four in 10 women who suffer from PMS.

What if men had periods?

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that women with PMDD are more sensitive to the effects of sex hormones estrongen and progesterone, due to a molecular mechanism in their genes.

The team behind the research hopes that shedding light into the complex role of genes in PMDD will help to treat women with mood disorders linked to reproduction.

“This is a big moment for women's health, because it establishes that women with PMDD have an intrinsic difference in their molecular apparatus for response to sex hormones - not just emotional behaviours they should be able to voluntarily control,” said Dr David Goldman of the NIH's National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and colleagues.

"For the first time, we now have cellular evidence of abnormal signalling in cells derived from women with PMDD, and a plausible biological cause for their abnormal behavioural sensitivity to estrogen and progesterone,” commented Dr Peter Schmidt, of the NIH's National Institute of Mental Health, Behavioural Endocrinology Branch.

Period euphemisms around the World Show all 8 1 /8 Period euphemisms around the World Period euphemisms around the World Germany 'Erdbeerwoche': translates as 'strawberry week' iStock Period euphemisms around the World France 'Les Anglais out debarque' or 'The English have arrived' referring to past wars with England and possibly the British army's red coats Getty Images Period euphemisms around the World Brazil 'Eustou Com Chico' or "I'm with Chico' in reference to socialist Chico Mendes and possibly his gruesome assassination in the late 80's Getty Images Period euphemisms around the World Finland The Finnish affectionately refer to periods and pms as 'Hullum Lechman Tauti' or 'mad cow disease' Getty Images Period euphemisms around the World The United States Though there are many varied terms, a popular americans commonly refer to periods as 'Aunt Flo' iStock Period euphemisms around the World China In China you may hear 'its little sister to come in' iStock Period euphemisms around the World Denmark 'Der Er Kommunister i Lysthuset' or 'There are communists in the funhouse' Getty Images Period euphemisms around the World South Africa A famed colloquialism for a period in South Africa is 'Grannys stuck in traffic' iStock

The study published in the journal ‘Molecular Psychiatry’ showed that cutting off estrogen and progesterone stopped symptoms of PMDD in women with the condition. PMDD then re-emerged when the hormones were re-introduced.

Researchers then compared white blood cells in women with PMDD and those without, which confirmed that it impacts a woman’s cellular response to sex hormones.