Non-randomised trial, 1994
Does fluoxetine (an antidepressant) help premenstrual mood symptoms when taken for a long time?
Yes, in this study most women improved and about half went into full remission with long-term fluoxetine use, though it was not a controlled comparison.
What they did
64 women with confirmed severe premenstrual mood symptoms (late luteal phase dysphoric disorder) took fluoxetine for an average of 18.6 months, with doses adjusted based on side effects and response. Doctors checked their progress every 3 to 6 months.
What they found
60 women tolerated at least one month of treatment. Of these, 57% (34 women) stayed on 20 mg/day and 37% (22 women) moved to 40 mg/day. 52% (31 women) reached full remission and 48% (29 women) had partial improvement. The most common side effect was sexual dysfunction, affecting 17% (10 women). Symptoms usually came back when treatment stopped, but improved again when it was restarted. Women who developed symptoms earlier in life or who had a past episode of major depression were more likely to only partially improve.
What it means for you
This supports other research showing fluoxetine can be an effective, well-tolerated long-term treatment for severe PMS-type symptoms, with roughly half of women achieving full remission. The main limits are that there was no comparison (placebo) group and the design was not randomized, so some improvement could be due to other factors.
52% (N=31)
achieved full remission
18.6 months
average treatment duration
17% (N=10)
had sexual dysfunction as a side effect
About the study
- Original title
- Long-term fluoxetine treatment of late luteal phase dysphoric disorder
- Authors
- Pearlstein TB, Stone AB
- Journal
- The Journal of clinical psychiatry
- Year
- 1994
- Study design
- Non-randomised trial
- Participants
- 34
- What was tested
- Long-term fluoxetine (an SSRI antidepressant), average treatment length 18.6 months
- Read the paper
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8071300/
Topics
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