Systematic review, 2005
Does bright light therapy reduce depression in premenstrual dysphoric disorder?
It is uncertain. Four small trials with 55 total participants were found, but results were inconsistent and the trials had methodological limitations.
What they did
Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials of bright light therapy for PMDD. Searched six databases for trials. Four crossover trials met inclusion criteria.
What they found
Four crossover trials studied a total of 55 participants. Three higher quality trials showed a small pooled effect size of -0.20. One fully unblinded trial showed a much larger effect. Confidence intervals were wide, and methodologic limitations were present.
What it means for you
The trials were too small and had methodological problems, so we cannot be confident whether bright light therapy works for PMDD depression. The evidence justifies neither enthusiastic support nor confident rejection of this treatment.
4
Number of randomized trials found
55
Total participants studied
-0.20
Pooled effect size from higher quality trials
About the study
- Original title
- The effect of bright light therapy on depression associated with premenstrual dysphoric disorder
- Authors
- Krasnik C, Montori VM, Guyatt GH et al.
- Journal
- American journal of obstetrics and gynecology
- Year
- 2005
- Study design
- Systematic review
- What was tested
- Bright light therapy
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2005.01.055
Topics
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