Survey study, 1989
Does exercise, rest, or vitamin B6 help PMS symptoms?
Yes. Exercise, rest, and keeping a symptom diary helped over 80% of women who tried them.
What they did
1826 women in Wellington completed a survey about their PMS symptoms and what they tried for them, including self-help and medical approaches.
What they found
1456 women had a recent period, and 85% reported PMS symptoms. About 990 tried self-help and 416 got medical help. Half of women had tried exercise, rest, or vitamin B6. Exercise, rest, and keeping a written diary of symptoms were helpful for over 80% of those who tried them. There was a marked placebo response. Different groups of women benefited from different self-help measures. Four types of PMS were suggested: breast type, bloat type, irritable type, and various.
What it means for you
Exercise and rest are simple approaches that helped most women who tried them. Keeping a symptom diary also helps. The main limit is that women recalled what helped after the fact, and there was no control group to compare to.
1826
women surveyed
85%
had premenstrual symptoms
over 80%
found exercise, rest, or diary helpful
About the study
- Original title
- Treatment of premenstrual symptoms in Wellington women
- Authors
- Pullon SR, Reinken JA, Sparrow MJ
- Journal
- The New Zealand medical journal
- Year
- 1989
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- Self-help measures (exercise, rest, vitamin B6) and medical treatments (vitamin B6, diuretics, oral contraceptives, mefenamic acid)
- Read the paper
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2919018/
Topics
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