Randomised trial, 1988
Does dydrogesterone help premenstrual syndrome?
Dydrogesterone (10 mg twice daily) did not significantly help PMS symptoms overall. The main issue is that most women who started the study didn't complete it, making the results very uncertain.
What they did
A double-blind crossover study where women with PMS from hospital clinics and self-referred women received dydrogesterone 10 mg twice daily and placebo in random order. Only one-third of women who started the study completed it.
What they found
All women improved during the study whether on dydrogesterone or placebo. The only significant differences between the two treatments were that dydrogesterone increased breast tenderness and decreased pain with menstrual bleeding compared to placebo.
What it means for you
Dydrogesterone doesn't appear to help PMS symptoms overall beyond placebo. The main limitation is that two-thirds of women who started the study dropped out, which raises questions about why and whether results apply to others. The improvements seen might be due to placebo effect or natural variation.
1/3
of women completed study
10 mg
dydrogesterone dose
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual syndrome. A double-blind cross-over study of treatment with dydrogesterone and placebo
- Authors
- Sampson GA, Heathcote PR, Wordsworth J et al.
- Journal
- The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
- Year
- 1988
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- What was tested
- Dydrogesterone 10 mg twice daily versus placebo
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1192/bjp.153.2.232
Topics
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