BMJ 2001;323:776 ( 6 October )

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Efficacy of progesterone and progestogens in management of premenstrual syndrome: systematic review

Katrina Wyatt, lecturer, ^a Paul Dimmock, research fellow, ^a Peter Jones, professor of statistics, ^b Manjit Obhrai, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, ^a Shaughn O'Brien, head of academic obstetrics and gynaecology. ^a

^a Academic Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Keele University and North Staffordshire Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 6QG, ^b Department of Mathematics, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG

Correspondence to: S O'Brien pma06{at}keele.ac.uk

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of progesterone and progestogens in the management of premenstrual syndrome.
Design: Systematic review of published randomised, placebo controlled trials.
Studies reviewed: 10 trials of progesterone therapy (531 women) and four trials of progestogen therapy (378 women).
Main outcome measures: Proportion of women whose symptoms showed improvement with progesterone preparations (suppositories and oral micronised). Proportion of women whose symptoms showed improvement with progestogens. Secondary analysis of efficacy of progesterone and progestogens in managing physical and behavioural symptoms.
Results: Overall standardised mean difference for all trials that assessed efficacy of progesterone (by both routes of administration) was 0.028 (95% confidence interval 0.017 to 0.040). The odds ratio was 1.05 (1.03 to 1.08) in favour of progesterone, indicating no clinically important difference between progesterone and placebo. For progestogens the overall standardised mean was 0.036 (0.014 to 0.060), which corresponds to an odds ratio of 1.07 (1.03 to 1.11) showing a statistically, but not clinically, significant improvement for women taking progestogens.
Conclusion: The evidence from these meta-analyses does not support the use of progesterone or progestogens in the management of premenstrual syndrome.

What is already known on this topic The premenstrual syndrome affects about 1.5 million women in the United Kingdom There are numerous treatment options, progesterone being one of the most strongly advocated Progesterone and progestogens are among the most widely prescribed treatments for premenstrual syndrome in the United Kingdom and the United States What this study adds There is no evidence to support the claimed efficacy of progesterone in the management of premenstrual syndrome There is insufficient evidence to make a definitive statement about progestogens, but current evidence suggests that they are not likely to be effective

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