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Randomised trial, 2024

Does vitamin D in dairy products help restless legs syndrome in women with PMS?

Yes, but only in women with severe PMS. Vitamin D fortified dairy increased vitamin D levels and reduced restless legs symptoms in women with severe PMS symptoms.

Moderate study design 141 middle-aged women with abdominal obesity, low vitamin D, and PMS

What they did

A 2.5-month randomized double-blind trial with 141 middle-aged women with low vitamin D and abdominal obesity. About half received low-fat milk and yogurt fortified with vitamin D3, the other half received the same products without fortification.

What they found

In women with severe PMS symptoms (PSST score greater than 28), vitamin D levels increased significantly after the fortified products. Their restless legs scores were significantly lower after the intervention (p less than 0.05). In women with milder PMS, there was no significant improvement.

What it means for you

Vitamin D fortified dairy may help restless legs specifically in women with severe PMS, but does not help women with milder symptoms. The study was limited to middle-aged women with abdominal obesity and low vitamin D.

141

women in the study

2.5

months of intervention

PSST > 28

threshold for severe PMS where vitamin D helped

About the study

Original title
Effect of dairy products fortified with vitamin d 3 on restless legs syndrome in women with premenstrual syndrome, abdominal obesity and vitamin d deficiency: a pilot study
Authors
Sharifan P, Sahranavard T, Rashidmayvan M et al.
Journal
BMC women's health
Year
2024
Study design
Randomised trial
Participants
141
What was tested
Low-fat milk and yogurt fortified with vitamin D3 for 2.5 months
Open access
Yes
Original abstract

Backgrounds: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is an unpleasant condition that affects the quality of life of patients. Its prevalence in increased in women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Vitamin D plays a key role in female reproduction through its impact on calcium homeostasis and neurotransmitters. We aimed to evaluate the effect of dairy products fortified with Vitamin D 3 on RLS in women with PMS. Materials and methods: We conducted a 2.5-month, randomized, total-blinded clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of low-fat milk and yogurt fortified with vitamin D on RLS in women with PMS. Among 141 middle-aged women with abdominal obesity, 71 and 70 cases received fortified and non-fortified low-fat dairy products, respectively. All subjects completed a Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST) and RLS questionnaires. Results: The results showed that in the women with severe PMS (PSST > 28), serum levels of vitamin D increased significantly following vitamin D fortification. The mean restless legs score in the severe PMS subgroup (PSST > 28) was significantly lower after the intervention (p 28) (p 0.05). Conclusion: Fortifying dairy products with vitamin D 3 can increase the serum levels of vitamin D and reduce the RLS severity in women with severe PMS, but not in other groups.

Reproduced under CC-BY.

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