---
title: Does atenolol help depression that comes before periods? | Niyora
description: No. Atenolol at 100 mg daily did not improve mood compared to placebo. This suggests that if bright light helps PMS depression, it may work through other mech
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/atenolol-in-premenstrual-syndrome-a-test-of-the-melatonin-hypothesis-1991/
---

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- Does atenolol help depression that comes before periods?

Non-randomised trial, 1991

# Does atenolol help depression that comes before periods?

No. Atenolol at 100 mg daily did not improve mood compared to placebo. This suggests that if bright light helps PMS depression, it may work through other mechanisms besides melatonin reduction.

 Early or limited evidence

11 women with prospectively documented premenstrual depression

## What they did

11 women with prospectively documented premenstrual depression took either 100 mg atenolol or placebo daily during the symptomatic premenstrual phase.

## What they found

There was no significant improvement in mood following treatment with atenolol compared to placebo.

## What it means for you

Atenolol does not appear to be an effective treatment for premenstrual depression. The study was very small, so results need confirmation in larger trials.

11

patients studied

100 mg

atenolol dose

## About the study

Original title Atenolol in premenstrual syndrome: a test of the melatonin hypothesis Authors Parry BL, Rosenthal NE, James SP et al. Journal Psychiatry research Year 1991 Study design Non-randomised trial What was tested Atenolol 100 mg daily Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(91)90070-6](https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(91)90070-6)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Sleep and insomnia](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-sleep/)[SSRIs and antidepressants](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-ssri/)[Light therapy and sleep deprivation](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-light-therapy/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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