Treatment of premenstrual syndrome. A double-blind trial of dydrogesterone

A double-blind randomised crossover trial of oral micronised progesterone and placebo had demonstrated that progesterone had beneficial effects over placebo for some mood and physical premenstrual symptoms. A further trial using identical methodology was carried out to assess whether dydrogesterone would have the same beneficial effects. Prospective assessment confirmed the presence of a premenstrual syndrome in 30 women. Of these, six withdrew during the 4 months of the study. Twenty-four women completed the double-blind crossover protocol. All women were interviewed premenstrually before treatment and in each month of treatment. They completed the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory, Mood Adjective Checklist and a Daily Symptom Record. Analysis of data found an overall beneficial effect of being treated for most variables. Further analysis showed that the most major effects occurred in the first 2 treatment months. This study could find no evidence that dydrogesterone was more effective than placebo in treating premenstrual complaints.