Survey study, 2015
Does fish oil help reduce PMS symptoms?
Yes. Fish oil at 2g per day significantly reduced PMS symptoms in both minority and non-minority women, with the same large effect size of 1.4 in both groups.
What they did
Pilot study of 15 women (7 non-minority, 8 minority) who took 2g of fish oil daily. PMS symptoms were measured at baseline (averaged over 2 months) and again at 5 months using a menstrual distress questionnaire.
What they found
Fish oil supplementation significantly reduced PMS symptoms in the non-minority group (p=0.002) and the minority group (p=0.046), with a large effect size of 1.4 for both groups. Mean PMS scores were not significantly different between the two groups at 5 months.
What it means for you
This small pilot suggests fish oil may help all women with PMS regardless of race or ethnicity. A larger study is needed to confirm these findings. The main limitation is the very small sample size (15 women total) and short study period (5 months).
2g/day
fish oil dose
1.4
effect size both groups
n=15
total participants
About the study
- Original title
- An exploratory pilot of factors associated with premenstrual syndrome in minority women
- Authors
- Mallory Perry, Michelle Price Judge, Danielle Millar et al.
- Journal
- International Journal of Nursing Sciences
- Year
- 2015
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 15
- What was tested
- 2g fish oil daily for 5 months
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2015.04.008
Topics
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