---
title: Does calcium help PMS symptoms? | Niyora
description: Yes. Calcium reduced negative mood, water retention, and pain during the week before your period, and reduced pain during your period.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/premenstrual-and-menstrual-symptom-clusters-and-response-to-calcium-treatment-1991/
---

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- Does calcium help PMS symptoms?

Randomised trial, 1991

# Does calcium help PMS symptoms?

Yes. Calcium reduced negative mood, water retention, and pain during the week before your period, and reduced pain during your period.

 Moderate study design

33 women in a randomized controlled trial

## What they did

33 women rated 14 PMS symptoms every day in a randomized, double-blind, crossover trial of calcium supplementation. The study analyzed 2,413 daily ratings during the luteal and menstrual phases using factor analysis.

## What they found

Four symptom groups were identified (negative affect, water retention, food, and pain) accounting for 67% of total variance. Calcium reduced negative affect (p=.045), water retention (p=.003), and pain (p=.036) during the luteal phase. It also reduced pain (p=.02) during the menstrual phase.

## What it means for you

Calcium may help with specific PMS symptoms. However, this is a small study, so results need confirmation in larger research. The crossover design is a strength because each woman served as her own control.

33

women

67%

total symptom variance explained

4

symptom clusters identified

## About the study

Original title Premenstrual and menstrual symptom clusters and response to calcium treatment Authors Alvir JM, Thys-Jacobs S Journal Psychopharmacology bulletin Year 1991 Study design Randomised trial Participants 33 What was tested Calcium supplementation Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1924661/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1924661/)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Bloating, breast tenderness and physical symptoms](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-physical-symptoms/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Calcium](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-calcium/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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