--- title: Does vitamin D in dairy products help restless legs syndrome in women with PMS? description: Yes, but only in women with severe PMS. Vitamin D fortified dairy increased vitamin D levels and reduced restless legs symptoms in women with severe PMS sympt url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/effect-of-dairy-products-fortified-with-vitamin-d-3-on-restless-legs-syndrome-in-2024/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does vitamin D in dairy products help restless legs syndrome in women with PMS? Randomised trial, 2024 # Does vitamin D in dairy products help restless legs syndrome in women with PMS? Yes, but only in women with severe PMS. Vitamin D fortified dairy increased vitamin D levels and reduced restless legs symptoms in women with severe PMS symptoms. Moderate study design 141 middle-aged women with abdominal obesity, low vitamin D, and PMS ## What they did A 2.5-month randomized double-blind trial with 141 middle-aged women with low vitamin D and abdominal obesity. About half received low-fat milk and yogurt fortified with vitamin D3, the other half received the same products without fortification. ## What they found In women with severe PMS symptoms (PSST score greater than 28), vitamin D levels increased significantly after the fortified products. Their restless legs scores were significantly lower after the intervention (p less than 0.05). In women with milder PMS, there was no significant improvement. ## What it means for you Vitamin D fortified dairy may help restless legs specifically in women with severe PMS, but does not help women with milder symptoms. The study was limited to middle-aged women with abdominal obesity and low vitamin D. 141 women in the study 2.5 months of intervention PSST > 28 threshold for severe PMS where vitamin D helped ## About the study Original title Effect of dairy products fortified with vitamin d 3 on restless legs syndrome in women with premenstrual syndrome, abdominal obesity and vitamin d deficiency: a pilot study Authors Sharifan P, Sahranavard T, Rashidmayvan M et al. Journal BMC women's health Year 2024 Study design Randomised trial Participants 141 What was tested Low-fat milk and yogurt fortified with vitamin D3 for 2.5 months Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1186/s12905-024-03159-z](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-024-03159-z) Original abstract Backgrounds: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is an unpleasant condition that affects the quality of life of patients. Its prevalence in increased in women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Vitamin D plays a key role in female reproduction through its impact on calcium homeostasis and neurotransmitters. We aimed to evaluate the effect of dairy products fortified with Vitamin D 3 on RLS in women with PMS. Materials and methods: We conducted a 2.5-month, randomized, total-blinded clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of low-fat milk and yogurt fortified with vitamin D on RLS in women with PMS. Among 141 middle-aged women with abdominal obesity, 71 and 70 cases received fortified and non-fortified low-fat dairy products, respectively. All subjects completed a Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST) and RLS questionnaires. Results: The results showed that in the women with severe PMS (PSST > 28), serum levels of vitamin D increased significantly following vitamin D fortification. The mean restless legs score in the severe PMS subgroup (PSST > 28) was significantly lower after the intervention (p 28) (p 0.05). Conclusion: Fortifying dairy products with vitamin D 3 can increase the serum levels of vitamin D and reduce the RLS severity in women with severe PMS, but not in other groups. Reproduced under CC-BY. ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Calcium](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-calcium/)[Vitamin D](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-vitamin-d/) 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 Randomised trial, 2026 Does calcium and vitamin D supplementation reduce PMS symptoms? Systematic review, 2025 Do nutritional interventions help with emotional symptoms of PMS? Randomised trial, 2025 How effective are non-hormonal treatments for severe PMS? Review, 2011 What are PMS and PMDD, and how common are they? Randomised trial, 2009 Is dydrogesterone or calcium plus vitamin D better for severe PMS? Review, 2026 Can diet and nutrition help reduce PMS symptoms? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗