Randomised trial, 2023
Does drospirenone birth control help PMS symptoms?
Drospirenone birth control may modestly improve PMS symptoms and reduce problems with work and relationships, but the evidence is weak and it may cause more side effects leading women to stop taking it.
What they did
This was a systematic review that combined results from 5 randomized controlled trials involving 858 women with PMS or severe PMS (PMDD). The trials compared birth control pills containing drospirenone and low-dose estrogen with placebo pills.
What they found
Drospirenone pills may improve overall PMS symptoms (SMD -0.41), and reduce functional impairment in productivity (MD -0.31), social activities (MD -0.29), and relationships (MD -0.30) compared to placebo. Women taking drospirenone were 3.41 times more likely to stop taking the pills due to side effects.
What it means for you
Drospirenone birth control might help PMS, but the improvement is small and comes with higher risk of side effects. The overall evidence quality is weak due to poor study reporting and inconsistency across trials. This summarizes available evidence but is not a recommendation.
858
Women studied across 5 trials
SMD -0.41
Overall effect on PMS symptoms vs placebo
OR 3.41
Increased likelihood of side effect withdrawal
About the study
- Original title
- Oral contraceptives containing drospirenone for premenstrual syndrome
- Authors
- Ma S, Song SJ
- Journal
- The Cochrane database of systematic reviews
- Year
- 2023
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 776
- What was tested
- Oral contraceptives containing drospirenone and low-dose estrogen
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd006586.pub5
Topics
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