Survey study, 2016

Do hormonal contraceptives reduce PMS symptoms?

Hormonal contraceptives are linked to lower risk of some PMS symptoms, including cramps, fatigue, and depression, but not others like mood swings and bloating.

Moderate study design 1048 women aged 20-29 from multiple ethnic backgrounds in Canada

What they did

Survey of 1048 women aged 20-29 from multiple ethnic backgrounds about their PMS symptoms and whether they use hormonal contraceptives.

What they found

The most common PMS symptoms were cramps (75%), bloating (74%), and mood swings (72%). Women using hormonal contraceptives had lower rates of some moderate or severe symptoms including cramps, fatigue, depression, anxiety, desire to be alone, confusion, and clumsiness. Hormonal contraceptives were not linked to differences in acne, mood swings, bloating, increased appetite, headache, insomnia, nausea, or changes in sexual desire.

What it means for you

Hormonal contraceptives may help with some PMS symptoms but not others. The decision whether to use them should consider which symptoms bother you most, since they will not help with all PMS problems.

75%

prevalence of cramps

74%

prevalence of bloating

1048

women studied

About the study

Original title: Association between Hormonal Contraceptive Use and Prevalence of Premenstrual Symptoms
Authors: Alicia Caroline Jarosz, Joseph Jamnik, Ahmed El‐Sohemy
Journal: The FASEB Journal
Year: 2016
Study design: Survey study
Participants: 1,048
What was tested: Hormonal contraceptive use compared with not using hormonal contraceptives
Read the paper: doi.org/10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.1247.5

Topics

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)Low mood and depression Anxiety and tension Mood swings and emotion regulation Sleep and insomnia Fatigue and energy Appetite and food cravings Bloating, breast tenderness and physical symptoms Pain and headache Libido and sexual function Oral contraceptives and drospirenone

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