Randomised trial, 2012
Do magnesium or vitamin B6 reduce premenstrual syndrome severity?
Both magnesium and vitamin B6 significantly reduced PMS symptoms more than placebo, with B6 being most effective.
What they did
A double-blind randomized controlled trial of 126 women divided equally into 3 groups. Women first kept menstrual diaries for 2 months. Then one group received magnesium, one received vitamin B6 and one received placebo for 2 menstrual cycles. Symptoms before and after treatment were compared.
What they found
Mean PMS scores significantly decreased after intervention in all three groups. Vitamin B6 had the most efficiency in improving PMS scores while placebo had the least.
What it means for you
Vitamin B6 and magnesium both reduce PMS severity better than placebo, with B6 being the most effective. This was a well-designed blinded controlled trial. The study was done in Iran, so results may not apply to all populations.
126
women
2
months baseline diary
2
cycles of treatment
About the study
- Original title
- Effects of magnesium and vitamin b6 on the severity of premenstrual syndrome symptoms
- Authors
- Ebrahimi E, Khayati Motlagh S, Nemati S et al.
- Journal
- Journal of caring sciences
- Year
- 2012
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 126
- What was tested
- Magnesium, vitamin B6 or placebo for 2 menstrual cycles
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.5681/jcs.2012.026
Topics
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