Randomised trial, 2009
Does longer sertraline treatment prevent PMS symptoms from returning?
Yes. When women took sertraline for 12 months, 41% had symptoms return, compared to 60% who took it for only 4 months. Women with more severe symptoms at the start were much more likely to have symptoms come back.
What they did
174 women with PMS or PMDD took sertraline for either 4 or 12 months, then switched to placebo. Researchers followed them for 18 months total and tracked when their symptoms returned using daily symptom records.
What they found
41% of women on 12-month treatment had symptoms return compared to 60% on 4-month treatment. Women on longer treatment waited 8 months before symptoms came back, compared to 4 months in the shorter group. Women with severe baseline symptoms were much more likely to relapse. Women whose symptoms went away completely were the least likely to have them return.
What it means for you
Longer treatment with sertraline may help prevent PMS symptoms from coming back. However, even with 12 months of treatment, symptoms returned for many women. The best results were in women whose symptoms completely disappeared during treatment. The study only examined one medication, so it is unclear if other treatments would show the same pattern.
41%
relapse rate on 12-month treatment
60%
relapse rate on 4-month treatment
8 vs 4 months
median time until symptoms returned
About the study
- Original title
- Time to relapse after short- or long-term treatment of severe premenstrual syndrome with sertraline
- Authors
- Freeman EW, Rickels K, Sammel MD et al.
- Journal
- Archives of general psychiatry
- Year
- 2009
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- What was tested
- Sertraline for 4 or 12 months
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2008.547
Topics
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