--- title: Does progesterone help treat premenstrual syndrome? | Niyora description: We can't be sure. While women taking progesterone improved more than those on placebo in some measures, the results were inconsistent, and only two small tria url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/progesterone-for-premenstrual-syndrome-2006/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does progesterone help treat premenstrual syndrome? Systematic review, 2006 # Does progesterone help treat premenstrual syndrome? We can't be sure. While women taking progesterone improved more than those on placebo in some measures, the results were inconsistent, and only two small trials with different methods were included. Moderate study design 280 women aged 18-45 with premenstrual syndrome ## What they did Systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Researchers found 2 trials involving 280 women aged 18-45 with PMS, though only 115 women had results that could be analysed. The trials used different progesterone doses and different ways to deliver them (oral, vaginal), making them hard to compare. ## What they found In one way of analysing the data, women taking progesterone improved more than those on placebo, and this was statistically significant. However, when looking at all women who started the study (intention-to-treat analysis), the difference wasn't statistically significant except in the first cycle. One smaller crossover study found no significant difference between oral progesterone, vaginal progesterone, and placebo. Side effects were generally mild. ## What it means for you There isn't enough good evidence to say if progesterone works for PMS. Only two small studies exist, and they used different methods so they can't be properly combined. This is a major limitation. 2 Trials included in review 280 Total women enrolled 115 Women with analysable results ## About the study Original title Progesterone for Premenstrual Syndrome Authors Ford O, Lethaby A, Mol B et al. Journal The Cochrane database of systematic reviews Year 2006 Study design Systematic review What was tested Progesterone (various doses and delivery methods) vs placebo Read the paper [doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd003415.pub2](https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd003415.pub2) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Estradiol, progesterone and hormone therapy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormone-therapy/) 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 Systematic review, 2023 What hormonal treatments have been tested for PMDD, menstrual migraine, and catamenial epilepsy? Survey study, 2022 What causes PMS and PMDD and what new treatments are being studied? Systematic review, 2015 What are the effects of continuous hormonal treatments for premenstrual syndrome? Review, 2012 How should premenstrual disorders be diagnosed and organized? Review, 2012 How is PMS diagnosed and treated, especially in women approaching menopause? Randomised trial, 2012 Do hysterectomy or hormonal IUDs reduce premenstrual symptoms in women with heavy periods? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗