Randomised trial, 1983
Does vitamin E help premenstrual syndrome symptoms?
Yes. Vitamin E significantly improved three of the four classes of PMS symptoms over two months, better than placebo.
What they did
A double-blind, randomized dose-response study where 75 women with benign breast disease received placebo or vitamin E (150, 300, or 600 IU per day) for two months and rated their PMS symptoms before and after.
What they found
Vitamin E had a significantly greater effect than placebo, improving three of the four classes of PMS symptoms.
What it means for you
Vitamin E supplementation may help women with severe PMS symptoms. The women studied had benign breast disease, which may not represent all women with PMS. Only two months of follow-up is relatively short.
75
women studied
3 of 4
symptom classes improved
2 months
treatment duration
About the study
- Original title
- The effect of alpha-tocopherol on premenstrual symptomatology: a double-blind study
- Authors
- London RS, Sundaram GS, Murphy L et al.
- Journal
- Journal of the American College of Nutrition
- Year
- 1983
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 75
- What was tested
- Alpha-tocopherol 150, 300, or 600 IU per day or placebo for two months
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1080/07315724.1983.10719916
Topics
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