Case-control study, 2011
Does eating more B vitamins help prevent PMS?
Women eating more riboflavin and thiamine from food had lower PMS risk, but B vitamin pills did not help.
What they did
Researchers followed nurses for 10 years starting in 1991. They compared women who developed PMS with women who didn't, and reviewed what B vitamins they ate in 1991, 1995, and 1999 using food questionnaires.
What they found
Women eating the most riboflavin from food had a 35% lower risk of PMS compared to those eating the least. Women eating the most thiamine from food also had lower risk. Niacin, vitamin B-6, folate, and vitamin B-12 from food made no difference. B vitamin supplements did not reduce PMS risk.
What it means for you
Eating foods with riboflavin and thiamine might help prevent PMS, but supplements did not. The study was large and covered 10 years. The main limit is that this was an observation study, so we cannot say B vitamins prevent PMS, only that eating more was linked to lower risk.
1057
women who developed PMS
35% lower
PMS risk with high riboflavin intake
10 years
length of follow-up
About the study
- Original title
- Dietary B vitamin intake and incident premenstrual syndrome
- Authors
- Chocano-Bedoya PO, Manson JE, Hankinson SE et al.
- Journal
- The American journal of clinical nutrition
- Year
- 2011
- Study design
- Case-control study
- Participants
- 1,057
- What was tested
- Varied B vitamin intake from food and supplements.
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.110.009530
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