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Randomised trial, 2016

Does combining calcium and vitamin B6 reduce premenstrual syndrome symptoms?

Yes, combining calcium and vitamin B6 reduced PMS symptoms significantly more than vitamin B6 alone in university students.

Moderate study design 76 university students at Hamadan University of Medical Sciences

What they did

76 university students were randomly divided into two groups of 38. One group took calcium (500mg) and vitamin B6 (40mg) twice daily for two months. The other group took vitamin B6 only, twice daily for two months. PMS symptoms were measured before and after using depression and daily symptom questionnaires.

What they found

Symptoms decreased in both groups, but the decrease was more significant in the calcium plus vitamin B6 group compared to vitamin B6 alone.

What it means for you

Taking calcium and vitamin B6 together may work better than B6 alone for PMS. Study only included university students, so results may not apply to all women. Duration was short at two months.

76

women studied

500mg

daily calcium dose

40mg

daily vitamin B6 dose

About the study

Original title
Effect of Combined Use of Calcium and Vitamin B6 on Premenstrual Syndrome Symptoms: a Randomized Clinical Trial
Authors
Masoumi SZ, Ataollahi M, Oshvandi K
Journal
Journal of caring sciences
Year
2016
Study design
Randomised trial
Participants
76
What was tested
Calcium 500mg plus vitamin B6 40mg twice daily for two months
Open access
Yes
Original abstract

Introduction: Premenstrual syndrome is one of the most common disorders in women, which includes a group of psychological and physical symptoms. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of combined use of calcium and vitamin B6 on premenstrual syndrome symptoms. Methods: This double blind randomized controlled was carried out on 76 students of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. Students were randomly allocated to two groups. (38 people in each group). Student in intervention groups received calcium tablet (500mg) and vitamin B6 (40 mg) and student in intervention groups received only vitamin B6 twice a day for two consecutive months. The symptoms were assessed by Beck depression inventory (BDI) and daily symptom records (DSR) questionnaires. Analyses were carried out by test-retest method, Chi-square, Mann-Whitney, Independent t-test, and paired t-test using SPSS software ver.13. Results The result showed that although the severity of symptoms decreased in both groups, but this reduction was more significant in the combined calcium and vitamin B6 group. Conclusion: According to the result, using of combination of calcium and vitamin B6 leads to better controlling of the premenstrual syndrome symptoms. Therefore it is recommended for women who suffer from these syndromes.

Reproduced under CC-BY.

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