Randomised trial, 2019
Does taking chromium help with mood symptoms linked to the menstrual cycle?
In this very small early study, chromium supplementation was linked to reduced mood symptoms in most of the women taking part, but with only a handful of participants this cannot be seen as strong proof.
What they did
Researchers studied 5 women in a clinic setting, two with treatment-resistant symptoms, then ran a double-blind trial where 6 women took chromium plus a dummy pill one month and chromium plus the antidepressant sertraline another month. Treatment ran from mid-cycle to the period, and mood was tracked with daily checklists and clinician ratings.
What they found
Most women who took chromium had fewer mood symptoms and felt more satisfied with their overall health. Some improved on chromium alone, while others did better when chromium was combined with an antidepressant than with either one by itself.
What it means for you
This hints that chromium could help with premenstrual mood symptoms, alone or alongside an antidepressant, but the study only included a handful of women, so larger, properly controlled trials are needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn.
6
Women completed the double-blind crossover trial
5
Women studied overall in clinic setting
About the study
- Original title
- Changing the perception of premenstrual dysphoric disorder - An online-experiment using the Stereotype Content Model
- Authors
- Janda C, Asbrock F, Herget M Dipl.-Psych et al.
- Journal
- Women & health
- Year
- 2019
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- What was tested
- Chromium supplementation, alone or combined with the antidepressant sertraline, taken from mid-cycle to the start of the period.
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2019.1584599
Topics
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