Randomised trial, 2008
Is it better to take paroxetine every day or just during your luteal phase for PMDD?
Both daily paroxetine and luteal-phase-only paroxetine improved symptoms in women with PMDD over six months. However, this was an open-label study where women knew their treatment, with a small sample size, so larger blinded studies are needed.
What they did
36 women with PMDD took paroxetine 20 mg daily for two cycles to confirm it worked. They were then randomly assigned to take it either continuously every day or only during the luteal phase for four more cycles, for a total of six months.
What they found
All women showed significant improvement. Response rates in the continuous group ranged from 50% to 78.6%, while in the intermittent group they ranged from 37.5% to 93.8%. Benefits lasted throughout all six treatment cycles.
What it means for you
Both ways of taking paroxetine can help PMDD symptoms. However, this was an open-label study with a limited sample size. Daily paroxetine appeared more consistently effective, but larger blinded studies are needed to fairly compare the two approaches.
36
Total women enrolled
50-78.6%
Response rate in continuous group
6
Months of follow-up
About the study
- Original title
- Six-month paroxetine treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder: continuous versus intermittent treatment protocols
- Authors
- Wu KY, Liu CY, Hsiao MC
- Journal
- Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences
- Year
- 2008
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 16
- What was tested
- Paroxetine 20 mg, continuously or during luteal phase only
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1819.2007.01785.x
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