---
title: Does calcium help PMS symptoms like tiredness and depression?
description: Yes. Women taking 500 mg calcium carbonate twice daily for 3 months had significant improvements in tiredness, appetite changes, and depression compared to pl
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/effects-of-calcium-supplement-therapy-in-women-with-premenstrual-syndrome-2009/
---

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- Does calcium help PMS symptoms like tiredness and depression?

Randomised trial, 2009

# Does calcium help PMS symptoms like tiredness and depression?

Yes. Women taking 500 mg calcium carbonate twice daily for 3 months had significant improvements in tiredness, appetite changes, and depression compared to placebo.

 Moderate study design

College students with PMS; mean age 21.4 ± 3.6 years

## What they did

This was a controlled trial where college students with PMS were randomly assigned to receive calcium or placebo. One group took 500 mg calcium carbonate twice daily and the other took placebo. Both groups continued for 3 months. Before and after, symptoms including tiredness, appetite changes, and depression were assessed using questionnaires.

## What they found

The calcium group showed significant improvements in early tiredness, appetite changes, and depressive symptoms compared to the placebo group. Specific percentages or effect sizes were not reported in the abstract.

## What it means for you

Calcium supplements may help reduce some specific PMS symptoms including fatigue, appetite changes, and depression. The main limitation is that the abstract doesn't state the total number of women studied, making it hard to judge how reliable the findings are. The study was also limited to college students.

500 mg

calcium dose, twice daily

3 months

treatment duration

21.4 ± 3.6

mean age in years

## About the study

Original title Effects of calcium supplement therapy in women with premenstrual syndrome Authors Ghanbari Z, Haghollahi F, Shariat M et al. Journal Taiwanese journal of obstetrics & gynecology Year 2009 Study design Randomised trial What was tested 500 mg calcium carbonate twice daily for 3 months Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/s1028-4559(09)60271-0](https://doi.org/10.1016/s1028-4559(09)60271-0)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Fatigue and energy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-fatigue/)[Appetite and food cravings](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-food-cravings/)[Calcium](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-calcium/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/)

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