Psych Congress 2026 – Poster Presentation

ADHD and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder in Women: Diagnostic Overlap and Clinical Implications

I recently had the opportunity to present my research at Psych Congress 2026 in New Orleans, a major professional conference that brings together psychiatrists, physicians, psychologists, researchers, and other mental health professionals to explore emerging developments in psychiatric research, diagnosis, and clinical care.

My presentation, “ADHD and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder in Women: Diagnostic Overlap and Clinical Implications,” examined the emerging relationship between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) in women. Although ADHD and PMDD are clinically distinct conditions, they can share several cognitive, emotional, and behavioural features, including difficulties with concentration, executive functioning, irritability, fatigue, sleep disturbance, cognitive fog, and emotional dysregulation. This overlap may complicate differential diagnosis, particularly when cyclical premenstrual worsening is interpreted as a primary mood disorder while underlying ADHD remains unrecognized.

The research also explored neurobiological mechanisms that may help explain this overlap. Estrogen and progesterone influence neurotransmitter systems involved in attention, motivation, reward processing, and emotional regulation, including dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine pathways. In particular, declining estrogen during the late luteal phase may affect dopaminergic functioning in neural circuits already implicated in ADHD, potentially intensifying difficulties with attention, executive functioning, motivation, and emotional regulation. The paper also considers the involvement of frontostriatal and limbic systems, while recognizing that the precise neurobiological mechanisms remain an evolving area of research.

A central clinical message of the presentation was the importance of a gender-sensitive and longitudinal approach to assessment. Understanding developmental history, identifying whether symptoms are persistent or cyclical, and using prospective menstrual-cycle tracking may help clinicians distinguish ADHD from PMDD, recognize comorbidity, and reduce the risk of delayed or inaccurate diagnosis. This approach may also support more individualized treatment planning by accounting for both neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities and hormone-sensitive changes in symptom expression.

Presenting this work at Psych Congress was an important professional milestone and an opportunity to contribute to a growing conversation about women’s mental health, neurodevelopment, hormonal influences, and diagnostic accuracy. The research highlights the value of integrating developmental, psychiatric, and reproductive-health perspectives when assessing women whose attention, mood, and executive-function symptoms fluctuate across the menstrual cycle.

Psych Congress 2026 | New Orleans