Randomised trial, 2023
Does taking sertraline when PMDD symptoms start improve how well women function?
Relationship functioning improved more with sertraline at symptom onset, mainly because it reduced anger and irritability. However, work productivity and social activities did not improve clearly.
What they did
A controlled trial at 3 sites where 90 women took sertraline (25-100 mg) and 94 took placebo, both starting when symptoms appeared. They measured how much their work, hobbies, social life, and relationships were affected over 2 cycles.
What they found
Relationship functioning improved by 1.39 points with sertraline compared to 0.76 points with placebo. Anger and irritability reduction appeared to explain why relationships improved with treatment.
What it means for you
Taking sertraline only when symptoms start may help with relationship problems in PMDD by reducing anger. However, this finding is from one trial and needs to be confirmed in other studies.
90
Women in sertraline group
94
Women in placebo group
1.39 vs 0.76
Relationship improvement in points
About the study
- Original title
- Does Symptom-Onset Treatment With Sertraline Improve Functional Impairment for Individuals With Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder?: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- Authors
- Yonkers KA, Altemus M, Gilstad-Hayden K et al.
- Journal
- Journal of clinical psychopharmacology
- Year
- 2023
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 94
- What was tested
- Sertraline 25-100 mg started when symptoms appear vs placebo
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1097/jcp.0000000000001700
Topics
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