Systematic review, 1999
Does vitamin B-6 help treat premenstrual symptoms?
Possibly yes. Nine trials show vitamin B-6 was 2.32 times more likely than placebo to improve overall symptoms and 1.69 times more likely to help depressive symptoms, but most trials were low quality.
What they did
Systematic review of 9 randomized placebo-controlled trials (940 patients) testing vitamin B-6 for PMS. Four trials (541 patients) separately measured depressive symptoms.
What they found
Odds ratio 2.32 (95% CI 1.95-2.54) for improvement in overall premenstrual symptoms versus placebo. Odds ratio 1.69 (95% CI 1.39-2.06) for depressive symptoms from four trials.
What it means for you
Vitamin B-6 up to 100 mg per day may help PMS and premenstrual depression. The effect is modest and most included trials were low quality, so higher-quality evidence is needed.
940
Patients total
2.32
Odds ratio for overall symptom improvement
1.69
Odds ratio for depression improvement
About the study
- Original title
- Efficacy of vitamin B-6 in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome: systematic review
- Authors
- Wyatt KM, Dimmock PW, Jones PW et al.
- Journal
- BMJ (Clinical research ed.)
- Year
- 1999
- Study design
- Systematic review
- What was tested
- Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), doses up to 100 mg per day
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1136/bmj.318.7195.1375
Topics
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