Skip to content

Study, 2005

Does paroxetine help premenstrual tension syndrome?

Yes. Paroxetine greatly reduced depression, anxiety, and physical symptoms over 3 months, much more than vitamin B1 did.

Moderate study design Women with premenstrual tension syndrome

What they did

Randomized controlled study comparing paroxetine treatment to vitamin B1 treatment in women with premenstrual tension syndrome. Doctors measured mood and physical symptoms at baseline and after 3 months using rating scales.

What they found

Women taking paroxetine had depression symptoms reduce by 63.2%, anxiety by 57.3%, and physical symptoms by 57.8%. Women taking vitamin B1 had much smaller reductions: depression by 10.2%, anxiety by 9.7%, and physical symptoms by 6.9%. The difference between groups was clear.

What it means for you

Paroxetine works much better than vitamin B1 for premenstrual tension syndrome symptoms. Main limits are the abstract does not specify how many women were studied and does not describe how long benefits lasted after the study ended.

63.2%

Depression symptom reduction with paroxetine

57.3%

Anxiety symptom reduction with paroxetine

57.8%

Physical symptom reduction with paroxetine

About the study

Original title
A control study on the treatment of premenstrual tension syndrome with paroxetine
Authors
王相立, 麻爱华
Journal
Zhonghua xingwei yixue yu naokexue zazhi
Year
2005
Study design
Study
What was tested
Paroxetine (an antidepressant) compared to vitamin B1

Topics