--- title: Does taking chromium help with mood symptoms linked to the menstrual cycle? description: In this very small early study, chromium supplementation was linked to reduced mood symptoms in most of the women taking part, but with only a handful of part url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/changing-the-perception-of-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-an-online-experiment-2019/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does taking chromium help with mood symptoms linked to the menstrual cycle? Randomised trial, 2019 # Does taking chromium help with mood symptoms linked to the menstrual cycle? In this very small early study, chromium supplementation was linked to reduced mood symptoms in most of the women taking part, but with only a handful of participants this cannot be seen as strong proof. Early or limited evidence 5 to 6 women with menstrual cycle-related mood symptoms, including some with treatment-resistant PMDD. ## What they did Researchers studied 5 women in a clinic setting, two with treatment-resistant symptoms, then ran a double-blind trial where 6 women took chromium plus a dummy pill one month and chromium plus the antidepressant sertraline another month. Treatment ran from mid-cycle to the period, and mood was tracked with daily checklists and clinician ratings. ## What they found Most women who took chromium had fewer mood symptoms and felt more satisfied with their overall health. Some improved on chromium alone, while others did better when chromium was combined with an antidepressant than with either one by itself. ## What it means for you This hints that chromium could help with premenstrual mood symptoms, alone or alongside an antidepressant, but the study only included a handful of women, so larger, properly controlled trials are needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn. 6 Women completed the double-blind crossover trial 5 Women studied overall in clinic setting ## About the study Original title Changing the perception of premenstrual dysphoric disorder - An online-experiment using the Stereotype Content Model Authors Janda C, Asbrock F, Herget M Dipl.-Psych et al. Journal Women & health Year 2019 Study design Randomised trial What was tested Chromium supplementation, alone or combined with the antidepressant sertraline, taken from mid-cycle to the start of the period. Read the paper [doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2019.1584599](https://doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2019.1584599) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Psychotherapy, counselling and education](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-psychotherapy/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/)[Adolescents and young people](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-adolescents/)[Stigma, attitudes and culture](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-stigma-culture/) 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. ## Related studies Survey study, 2026 Can health education help adolescent girls understand menstrual disorders and severe premenstrual disorder? Survey study, 2026 How common are severe PMS and PMDD in young women, and what are the risk factors? Non-randomised trial, 2023 Does a school health education program reduce PMS symptoms? Survey study, 2023 How common are PMS, PMDD, anxiety, and depression in rural adolescent girls? Randomised trial, 2023 Does peer education work as well as healthcare provider education for PMS in high school students? Survey study, 2019 How common are PMS and PMDD in teenage girls? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗