Part of “CHAPTER 96 – DISORDERS OF MENSTRUATION, OVULATION, AND SEXUAL RESPONSE“

Idiopathic or cyclical edema, also called periodic edema or “swelling,” occurs almost exclusively in adult women. It is characterized by excessive diurnal weight gain with development of peripheral edema when the patient is in the upright position.205,206 It is more common in obese women and occurs in the absence of demonstrable cardiac, hepatic, or renal disease or abnormalities in serum protein levels. Idiopathic edema is often associated with headache, increased irritability, and depression and appears to occur more frequently just before menses. Because idiopathic edema is a diagnosis that was made much more commonly previously, it is possible that this disorder is a part of the syndrome comprising premenstrual tension (see Chap. 99). This possibility is made more likely by the observation that patients with significant periodic edema often have severe psychologic disturbances.