---
title: Does a new birth control pill reduce PMS symptoms? | Niyora
description: Yes. In 322 women, after 6 cycles of this pill, negative mood and water retention during the premenstrual phase dropped significantly. However, this study had
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/effect-of-a-new-monophasic-oral-contraceptive-on-perimenstrual-symptoms-2001/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Does a new birth control pill reduce PMS symptoms?

Non-randomised trial, 2001

# Does a new birth control pill reduce PMS symptoms?

Yes. In 322 women, after 6 cycles of this pill, negative mood and water retention during the premenstrual phase dropped significantly. However, this study had no control group, so we cannot be certain the pill itself caused the improvement rather than a placebo effect.

 Moderate study design

322 healthy women aged 18 to 35 years

## What they did

322 healthy women aged 18 to 35 took a birth control pill containing 30 μg ethinyl estradiol and 3 mg drospirenone for six menstrual cycles. They completed a 23-item symptom questionnaire at the start and after cycle 6, rating symptoms during the premenstrual, menstrual, and postmenstrual phases on a five-point scale.

## What they found

At baseline, women reported higher symptom scores for negative mood, water retention, and poor concentration during the premenstrual and menstrual phases compared with the postmenstrual phase. After 6 cycles, premenstrual and menstrual scores for negative mood and water retention were reduced significantly (P <0.001) compared with baseline. Similar improvements appeared in both new users and those switching from other contraceptives. Impaired concentration scores did not improve significantly.

## What it means for you

This birth control pill may help mood and water retention symptoms of PMS. The main limitation is that the study had no control group, so we cannot rule out placebo effect or natural improvement over time. The authors themselves called for a controlled trial in women with more severe PMS symptoms to confirm these findings.

322

women studied

6

treatment cycles

P <0.001

significance level for improvement

## About the study

Original title Effect of a new monophasic oral contraceptive on perimenstrual symptoms Authors Candace Brown Journal Obstetrics and Gynecology Year 2001 Study design Non-randomised trial Participants 322 What was tested Birth control pill with 30 μg ethinyl estradiol and 3 mg drospirenone for six cycles Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/s0029-7844(01)01151-6](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0029-7844(01)01151-6)

## Topics

[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Bloating, breast tenderness and physical symptoms](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-physical-symptoms/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/)

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

Study, 1976

Do mood and body changes happen at the same time in the menstrual cycle?

Review, 2015

What do we know about PMS and PMDD and how are they treated?

Systematic review, 2014

Do estrogen and progesterone change how the brain processes emotions and decisions?

Systematic review, 2012

What medications work best for PMDD?

Review, 2009

What causes PMDD and what are the treatment options?

Cohort study, 2017

Do birth control pills affect mood in healthy women without PMS?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗