Randomised trial, 2018
Does omega-3 fish oil help with premenstrual symptoms?
Possibly. Most premenstrual symptoms improved significantly, and women in the omega-3 group showed improvement in quality of life, though the placebo group also improved.
What they did
95 Iranian women aged 20-35 with premenstrual symptoms were randomly assigned to take either 1 gram of omega-3 fish oil daily or placebo. They recorded their symptoms and completed quality of life surveys.
What they found
Most premenstrual symptoms and their interference with daily life were significantly reduced over the follow-up period. The longer use of omega-3 supplement was associated with improvement of premenstrual symptoms and activities. Both the omega-3 and placebo groups showed significant improvement in physical and mental components of quality of life. Some symptoms, including overeating in the omega-3 group and insomnia in the placebo group, showed no difference between groups.
What it means for you
Omega-3 may help some premenstrual symptoms and improve quality of life. However, both treatment and placebo groups improved significantly in many areas, making it unclear how much benefit comes specifically from the supplement rather than other factors. The study did not specify exactly how long women took the supplement or provide exact numbers for symptom improvements.
95
Women in study
1
Gram of fish oil daily
20-35
Age range of participants
About the study
- Original title
- The effect of omega 3 fatty acid supplementation on premenstrual syndrome and health-related quality of life: a randomized clinical trial
- Authors
- Behboudi-Gandevani S, Hariri FZ, Moghaddam-Banaem L
- Journal
- Journal of psychosomatic obstetrics and gynaecology
- Year
- 2018
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 95
- What was tested
- Omega-3 supplement containing 1 gram fish oil daily
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1080/0167482x.2017.1348496
Topics
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