---
title: Does calcium reduce PMS symptoms? | Niyora
description: Yes. Women taking 500 mg of calcium daily for two months had significantly less severe PMS symptoms than those taking placebo, especially mood and water reten
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/effect-of-calcium-on-premenstrual-syndrome-a-double-blind-randomized-clinical-2017/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Does calcium reduce PMS symptoms?

Randomised trial, 2017

# Does calcium reduce PMS symptoms?

Yes. Women taking 500 mg of calcium daily for two months had significantly less severe PMS symptoms than those taking placebo, especially mood and water retention problems.

 Strong study design

66 female university students in Iran with PMS

## What they did

66 female university students with PMS were randomly assigned to take either 500 mg of calcium or placebo daily for two months. Researchers measured PMS symptom severity during one menstrual cycle before and two menstrual cycles after treatment.

## What they found

Before treatment, both groups had similar PMS symptoms. After treatment, the calcium group had significantly less severe symptoms in both the first and second months. Improvements were largest in anxiety, depression, emotional changes, water retention, and physical symptoms.

## What it means for you

Calcium supplements may help reduce PMS symptoms, especially mood-related and water retention issues. The study only included university students in Iran, so findings may not apply to all women with PMS.

66

women with PMS

500 mg daily

calcium dose

2 months

treatment length

## About the study

Original title Effect of calcium on premenstrual syndrome: A double-blind randomized clinical trial Authors Shobeiri F, Araste FE, Ebrahimi R et al. Journal Obstetrics & gynecology science Year 2017 Study design Randomised trial What was tested 500 mg calcium daily for two months Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.5468/ogs.2017.60.1.100](https://doi.org/10.5468/ogs.2017.60.1.100)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Calcium](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-calcium/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

## Related studies

Survey study, 2021

Does being overweight or not getting enough calcium affect PMS?

Survey study, 2019

Do women with PMS have different nutrient levels than healthy women?

Survey study, 2016

Do vitamin B1 and calcium reduce PMS symptoms?

Survey study, 2026

Is low calcium linked to worse PMS symptoms?

Cohort study, 2010

How do anxiety disorders differ across different life stages?

Randomised trial, 2026

Does calcium and vitamin D supplementation reduce PMS symptoms?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗