Randomised trial, 2007
Do extended-cycle birth control pills reduce PMS symptoms compared to regular pills?
Yes. Switching from regular birth control pills (21 days on, 7 days off) to extended-cycle pills (minimal pill-free time) significantly reduced PMS symptoms, especially in women with more symptoms to start with.
What they did
114 women took regular birth control pills (21 days on, 7 days off) for two cycles. Their PMS symptoms were measured using three different questionnaires. They then switched to an extended-cycle pill containing drospirenone and ethinylestradiol, taken for 168 days (about 6 months), and symptoms were tracked again.
What they found
PMS symptoms peaked during the pill-free week in the regular regimen. When women switched to the extended-cycle pill, PMS symptoms significantly decreased, especially during the last 2 months. Of 111 women who completed the regular regimen, 102 (92%) completed the extended regimen. Switching to drospirenone also showed improvement.
What it means for you
Extended-cycle pills appear to help PMS symptoms better than regular pills, possibly because they reduce the number of pill-free weeks. The main limits are that this was not a randomized controlled trial, women weren't compared to placebo, and women had started on different pills. Improvement was most noticeable in women with more baseline symptoms.
111
Women completing standard 21/7 regimen
102
Women completing extended 168-day regimen
3 mg
Drospirenone dose in extended pill
About the study
- Original title
- Impact of a theoretically based sex education programme (SHARE) delivered by teachers on NHS registered conceptions and terminations: final results of cluster randomised trial
- Authors
- Pauline McGough
- Journal
- Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care
- Year
- 2007
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 111
- What was tested
- Switching from 21/7 birth control regimen to 168-day extended drospirenone/ethinylestradiol regimen
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1783/147118907780254132
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