--- title: Does the birth control pill change how bad premenstrual symptoms feel? description: Yes, women using cyclic hormonal contraception had slightly smaller swings in mood and physical symptoms around their period compared with women not using it, url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-influence-of-cyclic-hormonal-contraception-on-expression-of-premenstrual-2017/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does the birth control pill change how bad premenstrual symptoms feel? Randomised trial, 2017 # Does the birth control pill change how bad premenstrual symptoms feel? Yes, women using cyclic hormonal contraception had slightly smaller swings in mood and physical symptoms around their period compared with women not using it, though the pill did not get rid of the symptom pattern entirely. Moderate study design Women enrolled in a premenstrual syndrome clinical trial, split into those using and not using cyclic hormonal contraception ## What they did Researchers studied daily symptom diaries from two groups of women in a premenstrual syndrome study: one group of 103 pill users and 387 non-users who asked to join, and another of 41 pill users and 211 non-users who were randomly assigned. They compared symptom changes across four windows of days around the start of a period. ## What they found In both groups, hormonal contraception use affected how much symptoms changed around the period (p < 0.01), and the timing window also mattered (p < 0.0001). Overall, symptom changes were bigger in women not using hormonal contraception. Depression (p = 0.04), anger or irritability (p < 0.01), and physical symptoms (p < 0.01) rose more in the non-hormonal group. Symptoms worsened as the period got closer for everyone, with the biggest group difference in the window 4 days before to 2 days after the period started. ## What it means for you Cyclic hormonal contraception seems to slightly soften premenstrual symptom swings, especially mood and physical symptoms, but it does not remove the premenstrual pattern altogether. The days just before and just after a period starts seem to be when the difference between pill users and non-users is clearest. 103 vs 387 Screened cohort using hormonal contraception vs not 41 vs 211 Randomized cohort using hormonal contraception vs not day -4 to day 2 Window with largest symptom change difference ## About the study Original title The Influence of Cyclic Hormonal Contraception on Expression of Premenstrual Syndrome Authors Yonkers KA, Cameron B, Gueorguieva R et al. Journal Journal of women's health (2002) Year 2017 Study design Randomised trial What was tested Cyclic hormonal contraception (the birth control pill) compared with no hormonal contraception Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2016.5941](https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2016.5941) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Irritability and anger](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-irritability-anger/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/) 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 Cohort study, 2026 Does a birth control pill with estetrol and drospirenone help PMS? Randomised trial, 2017 Does Sepranolone reduce symptoms of severe premenstrual syndrome (PMDD)? Survey study, 1982 How common are premenstrual symptoms in American women, and what factors affect them? Case report, 2024 How is PMDD diagnosed and treated in teenagers? Survey study, 2019 Do birth control pills reduce psychological symptoms of PMS? Survey study, 2019 Can birth control pills treat PMDD? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗