Study, 1993
Do birth control pills change PMS symptoms?
Birth control pills reduced menstrual pain and breast tenderness. However, they didn't clearly help with food cravings or clumsiness, and may have actually made negative mood less likely to improve during menstruation.
What they did
Researchers compared 276 women taking birth control pills (171 on combined pills, 105 on triphasic pills) with 276 women not taking pills. All women said they had PMS. Groups were matched for age, whether they'd had children, and marital status. Women rated 27 symptoms across three cycle phases.
What they found
Women on birth control pills reported significantly less menstrual pain and less breast tenderness before their period. There was no clear difference between groups in food cravings or clumsiness. Women on birth control pills showed less improvement in negative mood during menstruation.
What it means for you
Birth control pills can reduce some physical PMS symptoms like pain and breast tenderness. However, they may not help with mood changes and might even make it harder for negative mood to improve during menstruation. More research is needed to understand the effects on mood.
276
women on birth control pills
276
women not on birth control pills
27
symptoms rated
About the study
- Original title
- The impact of oral contraceptives on the experience of perimenstrual mood, clumsiness, food craving and other symptoms
- Authors
- Bancroft J, Rennie D
- Journal
- Journal of psychosomatic research
- Year
- 1993
- Study design
- Study
- What was tested
- Taking birth control pills (171 combined type, 105 triphasic type) versus no pills.
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/0022-3999(93)90086-u
Topics
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