Survey study, 1987
Do oral contraceptive pills reduce premenstrual symptoms?
Pills reduce some specific symptoms like anxiety, mood changes, and water retention. However, women on pills reported similar total numbers of symptoms as those not on pills.
What they did
101 women using oral contraceptives and 149 not using them, aged 18-45, completed the Premenstrual Assessment Form at health and gynecology clinics.
What they found
Pill users reported similar overall symptom numbers but had significantly lower severity scores for anxiety, fatigue, low mood, water retention, and impaired social functioning. The type and duration of pill use did not matter. Symptoms starting more than two days before menstruation were less common in pill users. Women who had difficulty tolerating pills reported more moderate to severe premenstrual changes.
What it means for you
Oral contraceptives may help with specific emotional and physical symptoms but do not eliminate premenstrual symptoms overall. The main limitation is that this was a cross-sectional study comparing groups at one point in time, so we cannot prove pills caused the reduction.
101
women using oral contraceptives
149
women not using oral contraceptives
About the study
- Original title
- The relationship between retrospective premenstrual symptom reporting and present oral contraceptive use
- Authors
- Graham CA, Sherwin BB
- Journal
- Journal of psychosomatic research
- Year
- 1987
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- Oral contraceptive use
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/0022-3999(87)90097-3
Topics
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