---
title: Does Yasmin birth control reduce PMS symptoms better than another pill?
description: Yes. Yasmin reduced water retention, improved breast tenderness, and improved skin problems more than desogestrel pill. Both prevented pregnancy well.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/efficacy-and-safety-of-drospirenone-ethinylestradiol-on-contraception-in-healthy-2009/
---

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- Does Yasmin birth control reduce PMS symptoms better than another pill?

Randomised trial, 2009

# Does Yasmin birth control reduce PMS symptoms better than another pill?

Yes. Yasmin reduced water retention, improved breast tenderness, and improved skin problems more than desogestrel pill. Both prevented pregnancy well.

 Strong study design

768 healthy Chinese women using birth control

## What they did

768 healthy Chinese women using birth control were assigned to either Yasmin (573 women) or desogestrel pill (195 women). They took their assigned pill for 13 cycles and reported their symptoms, weight, and other effects.

## What they found

Both pills prevented pregnancy effectively. Yasmin users reported more improvement in water retention and appetite, breast tenderness (18.0% versus 11.3%), and skin problems (12.6% versus 5.4%). Yasmin users lost 0.28 kg while desogestrel users gained 0.57 kg.

## What it means for you

Yasmin may help more with some PMS-related symptoms from birth control than desogestrel pill. Both prevent pregnancy effectively. This study was in healthy Chinese women.

768

healthy Chinese women

13

treatment cycles

18.0%

Yasmin breast tenderness improvement

## About the study

Original title [Efficacy and safety of drospirenone-ethinylestradiol on contraception in healthy Chinese women: a multicenter randomized controlled trial] Authors Fan GS, Bian ML, Cheng LN et al. Journal Zhonghua fu chan ke za zhi Year 2009 Study design Randomised trial Participants 768 What was tested Yasmin (drospirenone plus ethinylestradiol) versus desogestrel pill Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19563061/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19563061/)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Bloating, breast tenderness and physical symptoms](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-physical-symptoms/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/)

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