Randomised trial, 2015
Does taking sertraline only when PMDD symptoms start, instead of every day, help?
Yes, taking sertraline just during the symptomatic days of the cycle improved mood and irritability more than placebo, though the main symptom scale did not quite reach statistical significance.
What they did
A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at 3 university medical centers. 252 women with PMDD took either sertraline (50 to 100 mg/d) or placebo, starting at symptom onset and stopping a few days into their period, for 6 menstrual cycles.
What they found
On the main symptom scale (PMTS), sertraline and placebo both improved, with a group difference of 1.88 points that was not quite significant (P = .06). On other measures sertraline did better: depression scores (IDS-C) improved more by 5.14 points (P = .02), overall daily symptom scores (DRSP) improved by 1.09 points (P = .02), and anger/irritability improved by 1.22 points (P < .01). 67.0% of sertraline users responded to treatment.
What it means for you
This suggests that only taking sertraline during the bad days of the cycle, rather than every day, can still ease PMDD symptoms, especially irritability and low mood, though the benefit on the primary measure was borderline.
252
women in the trial
67.0%
responded to sertraline
P = .06
main symptom scale, not quite significant
About the study
- Original title
- Symptom-Onset Dosing of Sertraline for the Treatment of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial
- Authors
- Yonkers KA, Kornstein SG, Gueorguieva R et al.
- Journal
- JAMA psychiatry
- Year
- 2015
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 252
- What was tested
- Sertraline (50-100 mg/day) taken only from symptom onset until the start of the period, compared with placebo, over 6 cycles
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.1472
Topics
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