--- title: Does an oral contraceptive with drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol treat PMDD? description: The birth control pill showed signs of helping, especially with appetite, acne, and food cravings. However, most improvements were not statistically significa url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/evaluation-of-a-unique-oral-contraceptive-in-the-treatment-of-premenstrual-2001/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does an oral contraceptive with drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol treat PMDD? Randomised trial, 2001 # Does an oral contraceptive with drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol treat PMDD? The birth control pill showed signs of helping, especially with appetite, acne, and food cravings. However, most improvements were not statistically significant, and the study had limitations. Moderate study design 82 women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder ## What they did Double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial where 82 women with PMDD received either oral contraceptive (3 mg drospirenone and 30 micrograms ethinyl estradiol) or placebo for three treatment cycles. Researchers measured symptoms using standard questionnaires. ## What they found The pill group showed greater improvement than placebo on nearly all 22 symptom items tested. Only one symptom group reached statistical significance: appetite, acne, and food cravings (p = 0.027). Secondary mood measures showed similar trends but were not statistically significant. ## What it means for you This pill may help PMDD symptoms, but the study showed only weak evidence. Results suggest it may work for specific symptoms like food cravings but not clearly for mood symptoms. 82 women with PMDD 3 treatment cycles 0.027 p-value for appetite, acne, food cravings ## About the study Original title Evaluation of a unique oral contraceptive in the treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder Authors Freeman EW, Kroll R, Rapkin A et al. Journal Journal of women's health & gender-based medicine Year 2001 Study design Randomised trial Participants 82 What was tested Oral contraceptive containing 3 mg drospirenone and 30 micrograms ethinyl estradiol Read the paper [doi.org/10.1089/15246090152543148](https://doi.org/10.1089/15246090152543148) ## Topics [Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Appetite and food cravings](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-food-cravings/)[Diuretics and other drugs](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-diuretics-other-drugs/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Randomised trial, 2011 Does a birth control pill reduce negative emotions, food cravings, and water retention in women with PMDD? Randomised trial, 2008 Does drospirenone with ethinyl estradiol birth control help PMDD? Randomised trial, 2003 What treatments work for PMS and PMDD? Randomised trial, 2010 Do birth control pills with drospirenone help PMDD? Randomised trial, 2007 Does drospirenone/ethinylestradiol birth control help PMDD symptoms? Randomised trial, 2002 Does the birth control pill Yasmin help women with PMDD? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗