Fifteen women with moderate to severe premenstrual symptoms, defined and graded according to a recently developed scoring system, took part in a double blind study of the effect of progesterone on premenstrual symptoms. The dosage was 100 mg progesterone twice daily delivered in vaginal pessaries. The women were improved with a statistically significant decrease in their scores by progesterone as well as by placebo treatment. There was no statistically significant difference between the two regimes.
PMID 3906106 3906106 DOI 10.1016/0022-3999(85)90082-0 10.1016/0022-3999(85)90082-0
Cite this article
Andersch, B., & Hahn, L. (1985). Progesterone treatment of premenstrual tension--a double blind study. Journal of psychosomatic research, 29(5), 489-493. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3999(85)90082-0
Andersch B, Hahn L. Progesterone treatment of premenstrual tension--a double blind study. J Psychosom Res. 1985;29(5):489-493. doi:10.1016/0022-3999(85)90082-0
Andersch, B., and L. Hahn. "Progesterone treatment of premenstrual tension--a double blind study." Journal of psychosomatic research, vol. 29, no. 5, 1985, pp. 489-493.
Rigorous criteria were used to select women with severe premenstrual syndrome for inclusion in an 8-month double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial of progesterone vaginal suppositories. Following a control month without treatment, progesterone (200 mg in polyethylene glycol base) or placebo was self administered twice daily by vaginal suppository for a minimum of 12 days before the onset of menstruation for 3 months. Crossover to the opposite medication for a further 3 months was followed by a final control cycle without treatment in month 8. Physician contact was minimized throughout the study to avoid any possible positive effects of psychological support which may have confounded past investigations. Detailed self-report questionnaires were completed every 3 days for the duration of the study. Although the attrition rate was high, 20 women completed the trial and their records are analyzed here. The results of this trial indicate that the response to vaginal progesterone in these dosages is, at best, marginal and not significantly different from response with placebo use.
Patients with premenstrual syndrome recorded their symptoms daily using menstrual distress questionnaires. These were analysed by a least mean square method of fitting sine waves. After recording an untreated cycle, patients were given progesterone 200 mg b.d. and placebo in a double-blind crossover manner; 75 per cent of patients were then given progesterone 400 mg b.d. and placebo in a similar manner. Treated cycles were rated by both daily menstrual distress questionnaires and retrospective self-assessment. Both rating methods showed there was no significant difference between progesterone and placebo in reducing symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, and in the majority of cases placebo was more effective, although never significantly so.
Algars M et al., 2014·Journal of psychosomatic research
The relation between eating disorders and menstrual function has been widely studied, but it is unknown whether the behavior of binge eating itself is related to menstrual dysfunction. The 11,503 women included in this study were from the Genes and Environment. The associations between menstrual dysfunction and binge eating were analyzed using logistic regression or multiple linear regression models with generalized estimation equations. Women who reported lifetime binge eating were more likely to report either amenorrhea or oligomenorrhea than women who reported no binge eating. These results persisted when controlling for compensatory behaviors including self-induced vomiting, laxative use, and diuretic use. No differences between women with and without a history of binge eating were observed for age at menarche. Even when controlling for the effect of compensatory behaviors, the behavior of binge eating is associated with menstrual dysfunction. Metabolic and endocrinological factors could underlie this association. Careful evaluation of menstrual status is warranted for women with all eating disorders, not just anorexia nervosa.
Moreira L et al., 2013·Journal of psychosomatic research
In women with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), symptom severity appears to fluctuate over the course of the menstrual cycle. The objective of this paper was to compare female OCD patients with and without premenstrual worsening of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS), in terms of the clinical characteristics of OCD. This was a cross-sectional study involving 455 women with OCD, of whom 226 (49.7%) had experienced premenstrual OCS worsening and 229 (50.3%) had not (PMOCS-worse and PMOCS-same groups, respectively). Data were collected with the original and dimensional versions of the Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale, as well as with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck anxiety inventory (BAI). We found significant differences between the PMOCS-same and PMOCS-worse groups, the latter showing a higher frequency of suicidal ideation (P<.001), suicide attempts (P=.027), current use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (P=.022), lifetime use of mood stabilisers (P=.015), and sexual/religious obsessions (P<.001; OR=1.90), as well as higher scores on the BDI (P<.001) and BAI (P<.001). Underscoring the fact that OCD is a heterogeneous disorder, there appears to be a subgroup of female OCD patients in whom the premenstrual period is associated with a higher frequency of sexual/religious obsessions, depression, anxiety, and suicidality. This might be attributable to hormonal fluctuations. Further studies are warranted in order to investigate this hypothesis by evaluating such patients at different phases of the menstrual cycle, as well as measuring hormonal levels.