Survey study, 2017
Can magnesium supplements help with premenstrual syndrome?
This review of existing evidence says magnesium supplementation appears to help prevent premenstrual syndrome, along with period pain and menstrual migraine, but it does not test this itself with new data.
What they did
This is a literature review, not a new study. The authors gathered and summarised previously published research on oral magnesium supplementation for several women's health conditions, including premenstrual syndrome, period pain (dysmenorrhea), and menopause symptoms, and discussed how magnesium might work in the body for these conditions.
What they found
The evidence the authors reviewed showed a positive correlation between taking magnesium and getting relief from, or prevention of, these symptoms. Overall, the review concludes that magnesium supplementation is effective for preventing dysmenorrhea, premenstrual syndrome, and menstrual migraine, and for preventing menopause-related symptoms.
What it means for you
Magnesium looks like a promising, low-risk option worth discussing with a doctor for PMS, period pain, or menstrual migraine. The big limit is that this paper reviews other studies rather than running new, tightly controlled research, and the authors note data on how magnesium works is limited and not well organised.
About the study
- Original title
- Magnesium in the gynecological practice: a literature review
- Authors
- Parazzini F, Di Martino M, Pellegrino P
- Journal
- Magnesium research
- Year
- 2017
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- Oral magnesium supplementation.
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1684/mrh.2017.0419
Topics
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