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Randomised trial, 1987

Does vitamin B6 help with PMS symptoms?

No, 100 mg per day of vitamin B6 did not improve PMS symptoms in this study of 34 women.

Moderate study design 34 women with premenstrual syndrome

What they did

34 women with PMS took part in a double-blind placebo-controlled study where they received either 100 mg of vitamin B6 daily or placebo in a crossover design, meaning each woman tried both treatments at different times.

What they found

There was no significant improvement in PMS symptoms from taking 100 mg per day of vitamin B6. The report also mentions that another study found harmful side effects when women took 500 mg per day.

What it means for you

Vitamin B6 at the commonly used dose of 100 mg daily does not appear to help PMS symptoms. Higher doses can cause harm. This was a relatively small and brief study, so larger or longer studies might show different results.

34

women studied

100 mg

daily vitamin B6 dose tested

500 mg

dose that caused harmful effects

About the study

Original title
PMS and pyridoxine supplementation
Journal
Nutrition & the M.D
Year
1987
Study design
Randomised trial
Participants
34
What was tested
100 mg daily of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)

Topics