Systematic review, 2009
Is progesterone an effective treatment for premenstrual syndrome?
The research could not prove whether progesterone works for PMS or not. Only two studies met the review criteria and they were too different to combine.
What they did
The researchers searched for and reviewed randomized controlled trials comparing progesterone to placebo in women with PMS. Out of 17 studies found, only 2 met their strict inclusion criteria.
What they found
The two studies included 280 women total, but only 115 had results available for analysis. The studies used different amounts of progesterone, gave it in different ways, and had different participants. One study showed that women benefited more from progesterone than placebo when certain women were excluded from the analysis. The smaller study found no difference between different forms of progesterone and placebo. Both studies had design flaws.
What it means for you
We cannot say whether progesterone works for PMS. Only two small studies were available, and they were very different from each other. Both studies also had problems in how they were designed.
280
Total participants across both studies
115
Women with analyzable results
2
Studies that met inclusion criteria
About the study
- Original title
- Progesterone for premenstrual syndrome
- Authors
- Ford O, Lethaby A, Roberts H et al.
- Journal
- The Cochrane database of systematic reviews
- Year
- 2009
- Study design
- Systematic review
- What was tested
- Progesterone (oral or vaginal forms) versus placebo
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd003415.pub3