Study, 2014
Does the oral contraceptive Marvelon help with PMS symptoms?
Yes. When women took Marvelon (a combination birth control pill) for 6 months, their PMS symptoms got noticeably better. Other measures of health including blood cholesterol also improved.
What they did
Researchers studied 61 Iranian women at a family planning clinic. Women took an oral contraceptive pill containing 30 μg ethinyl estradiol and 150 μg desogestrel for 6 cycles (each cycle is 21 days on pills, 7 days off). The researchers measured PMS symptoms at the start and at cycles 1, 2, 3, and 6 using a symptom calendar.
What they found
PMS symptoms reduced significantly over time as women took the pills. Blood levels of cholesterol and related fats (HDL, LDL, and triglycerides) were measured at baseline and after the last cycle. The mean age of women was 28.52 years. Women had been pregnant on average 1.13 times. The oral contraceptive had a positive effect on women's health and reduced PMS symptoms.
What it means for you
Birth control pills that combine these two hormones appear to reduce PMS symptoms. This could be helpful for women looking for treatment options. The main limitation is that this was only done in Iranian women, so results might differ in other populations, and there was no comparison to women who didn't take the pill.
61
women studied
6
cycles of treatment
30 μg and 150 μg
daily doses of ethinyl estradiol and desogestrel
About the study
- Original title
- Effects of ethinyl estradiol plus desogestrel on premenstrual symptoms in Iranian women
- Authors
- Norouzi Javidan A, Haghollahi F, Ramezanzadeh F et al.
- Journal
- Acta medica Iranica
- Year
- 2014
- Study design
- Study
- What was tested
- Oral contraceptive containing 30 μg ethinyl estradiol and 150 μg desogestrel for 6 cycles
- Read the paper
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25415817/
Topics
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