Randomised trial, 2005
Can a birth control pill with drospirenone help PMDD symptoms?
Yes. In this study, the drospirenone pill worked better than a placebo (dummy pill) at reducing PMDD symptoms.
What they did
64 women with PMDD took either the new pill (drospirenone 3 mg plus ethinyl estradiol 20 mcg, taken 24 days active and 4 days inactive per cycle) or a placebo pill for three menstrual cycles. After a one-cycle break, each woman then switched to the other treatment, so everyone tried both.
What they found
Symptom scores (measured with the DRSP scale) dropped more on the real pill than on placebo, a difference of -12.47 points (95% CI -18.28 to -6.66, p<.001). Doctors rated 61.7% of women as improved on the real pill, compared with 31.8% on placebo (p=.009).
What it means for you
This pill, taken in this specific 24-day-on, 4-day-off pattern, appears to ease PMDD symptoms better than placebo. The study was well-designed (double-blind, placebo-controlled, everyone tried both treatments), but it was still fairly small and short, lasting only a few cycles, so longer-term effects aren't shown.
-12.47
Extra symptom score drop vs placebo
61.7%
Improved on real pill
31.8%
Improved on placebo
About the study
- Original title
- Treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder with a new drospirenone-containing oral contraceptive formulation
- Authors
- Pearlstein TB, Bachmann GA, Zacur HA et al.
- Journal
- Contraception
- Year
- 2005
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 64
- What was tested
- Drospirenone 3 mg plus ethinyl estradiol 20 mcg pill, taken 24 active days and 4 inactive days per cycle.
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2005.08.021
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