---
title: Can oral contraceptives help treat premenstrual depression? | Niyora
description: Yes. One 20-year-old woman was successfully treated for both premenstrual depression and a major depression using an oral contraceptive.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/possible-antidepressant-effect-of-oral-contraceptives-case-report-1984/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Can oral contraceptives help treat premenstrual depression?

Case report, 1984

# Can oral contraceptives help treat premenstrual depression?

Yes. One 20-year-old woman was successfully treated for both premenstrual depression and a major depression using an oral contraceptive.

 Early or limited evidence

One 20-year-old woman with premenstrual and major depression

## What they did

A 20-year-old woman with recurrent premenstrual depression and a major depressive episode was treated with an oral contraceptive.

## What they found

The oral contraceptive successfully treated her premenstrual depression and her subsequent major depressive episode.

## What it means for you

This case suggests oral contraceptives may help some women with premenstrual depression. The main limit is that this is only one woman, so we cannot know if the treatment works for others.

1

woman treated

20

age in years

## About the study

Original title Possible antidepressant effect of oral contraceptives: case report Authors Roy-Byrne P, Rubinow DR, Gold PW et al. Journal The Journal of clinical psychiatry Year 1984 Study design Case report What was tested Oral contraceptive Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6540262/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6540262/)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[SSRIs and antidepressants](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-ssri/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/)[Major depressive disorder](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-major-depression/)

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

Review, 2024

What are the most effective treatments for PMDD?

Survey study, 2011

Is premenstrual syndrome related to major depression?

Study, 2026

What treatments work for PMDD?

Case report, 2023

Can stopping ovulation help severe PMDD when other treatments do not work?

Study, 2022

What are the symptoms, causes, and treatments of PMS and PMDD?

Randomised trial, 2017

Does adding birth control to antidepressants help depression that worsens before your period?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗