---
title: Does sertraline help PMDD in women taking birth control pills?
description: Yes, sertraline worked better than placebo in this very small pilot study of 8 women.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/sertraline-in-contraceptive-users-with-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-2000/
---

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- Does sertraline help PMDD in women taking birth control pills?

Randomised trial, 2000

# Does sertraline help PMDD in women taking birth control pills?

Yes, sertraline worked better than placebo in this very small pilot study of 8 women.

 Early or limited evidence

8 women aged 18-45 with PMDD taking oral contraceptives

## What they did

Eight women aged 18-45 with PMDD kept daily diaries for 2 menstrual cycles. They then received either sertraline (50-150 mg/day) or placebo for 3 cycles, then switched to the other treatment for 3 more cycles.

## What they found

Sertraline at an average dose of 125.0 ± 38.0 mg/day was superior to placebo on premenstrual symptom scores and physician-rated improvement (P <0.01). Adverse events were similar. In 3 of 8 patients, sertraline was still detectable after placebo treatment, suggesting slower clearance with oral contraceptives.

## What it means for you

Sertraline may help PMDD in women on birth control pills. This is the first study to test this combination, but it is very small and preliminary, limiting how much we can trust the results.

8

Women in study

125.0 ± 38.0

Average sertraline dose (mg/day)

3 of 8

Women with slow drug clearance

## About the study

Original title Sertraline in contraceptive users with premenstrual dysphoric disorder Authors Candace Brown Journal Obstetrics and Gynecology Year 2000 Study design Randomised trial Participants 8 What was tested Sertraline (50-150 mg/day) vs placebo Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/s0029-7844(00)00636-0](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0029-7844(00)00636-0)

## Topics

[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[SSRIs and antidepressants](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-ssri/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/)

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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