Randomised trial, 1988
Does dydrogesterone help premenstrual symptoms in real-world practice?
No, dydrogesterone was no better than placebo. While 52 percent of women on the drug improved versus 44 percent on placebo, this small difference is not clinically meaningful.
What they did
161 women from general practices were randomly assigned to dydrogesterone (10 mg twice daily from day 12 until their period started) or placebo in a double-blind study. Treatment lasted 3 cycles.
What they found
No clinically relevant effect of dydrogesterone was found. Overall therapeutic effect occurred in 52 percent of women on dydrogesterone and 44 percent on placebo. The actual benefit ranged from minus 7 to plus 23 percent (95 percent confidence limits). A significant effect was found only for decreased libido, likely due to chance.
What it means for you
Dydrogesterone does not help PMS better than placebo. The small difference between drug and placebo could easily be due to chance. The confidence interval includes zero, meaning the real difference could be negative.
161
women studied
52% vs 44%
showed improvement
3
treatment cycles
About the study
- Original title
- The effect of dydrogesterone on premenstrual symptoms. A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study in general practice
- Authors
- Hoffmann V, Pedersen PA, Philip J et al.
- Journal
- Scandinavian journal of primary health care
- Year
- 1988
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 161
- What was tested
- Dydrogesterone 10 mg twice daily (day 12 to period) versus placebo
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.3109/02813438809009313
Topics
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