Survey study, 2016
Does yoga or calcium help reduce PMS symptoms in medical students?
Both yoga and calcium reduced the number and severity of PMS symptoms over 3 months, while the control group had no improvement. This is a small study, so larger studies are needed to confirm the benefits.
What they did
58 female medical students aged 18-22 with PMS were divided into three groups. One group did yoga (45 minutes daily, 5 days a week for 3 months). Another took calcium tablets (500 mg daily for 3 months). A third group received no treatment. Students rated their symptoms before and after.
What they found
The yoga group and the calcium group both showed significant decreases in the number and severity of premenstrual symptoms. The control group showed no significant change.
What it means for you
Both regular yoga practice and daily calcium supplements appear to reduce PMS symptoms in medical students. However, this is a small study with only about 20 students in each treatment group, so larger studies are needed to be confident these work for other women.
45 minutes
daily yoga duration
500 mg
daily calcium dose
3 months
treatment length
About the study
- Original title
- Comparing the Effects of Yoga & Oral Calcium Administration in Alleviating Symptoms of Premenstrual Syndrome in Medical Undergraduates
- Authors
- Bharati M
- Journal
- Journal of caring sciences
- Year
- 2016
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 65
- What was tested
- Yoga (45 minutes daily, 5 days a week, 3 months) or calcium carbonate (500 mg daily, 3 months)
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.15171/jcs.2016.019
Original abstract
Introduction: Medical undergraduates are heavily burdened by their curriculum. The females, in addition, suffer from vivid affective or somatic premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms such as bloating, mastalgia, insomnia, fatigue, mood swings, irritability, and depression. The present study was proposed to attenuate the symptoms of PMS by simple lifestyle measures like yoga and/or oral calcium. Methods: 65 medical female students (18-22 years) with a regular menstrual cycle were asked to self-rate their symptoms, along with their severity, in a validated questionnaire for two consecutive menstrual cycles. Fifty-eight students were found to have PMS. Twenty girls were given yoga training (45 minutes daily, five days a week, for three months). Another group of 20 was given oral tablets of calcium carbonate daily (500 mg, for three months) and rest 18 girl served as control group. Data were analyzed by SPSS ver.13 software. Results: The yoga and calcium groups showed a significant decrease in number and severity of premenstrual symptoms whereas in the control group there was not the significant difference. Conclusion: Encouraging a regular practice of yoga or taking a tablet of calcium daily in the medical schools can decrease the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.
Reproduced under CC-BY.
Topics
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