Vitamin E and Dysmenorrhea
Source: Ziaei S, et al. A randomised placebo-controlled trial to determine the effect of vitamin E in treatment of primary dysmenorrhea. BJOG 2001;108:1181-1183.
Design/Setting/Subjects: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 100 young women ages 16-18 years with primary dysmenorrhea in Tehran. Stratified randomization was done based on severity of the pain (mild, moderate, or severe on visual analog scale).
Intervention: Vitamin E 500 IU/d beginning two days before the expected onset of menses and continued for the first three days of the menses.
Outcome Measures: Severity of pain by visual analog scale. Wilcoxon matched pairs rank sum test was used to compare the severity of the pain before and after treatment; the Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze the differences between vitamin E and placebo.
Results: At two months, both groups experienced a significant decrease in median pain scores; vitamin E was significantly better than placebo (P = 0.02).
Funding: Not stated.
Comments: Vitamin E appears to decrease prostaglandin levels by preventing phospholipid peroxidation, the release of arachidonic acid, and its conversion to prostaglandin. Fish oil has previously been shown to be helpful for the treatment of dysmenorrhea. A placebo-controlled, randomized, crossover trial in 42 adolescents (37 completed), found that two months of fish oil (daily dose contained 1,080 mg eicosapentanoic acid, 720 mg docosahexaenoic acid, and 1.5 mg vitamin E) was superior to placebo.1 The vitamin E in these capsules was not meant to be therapeutic; it was included as a preservative. Fish oil and vitamin E certainly are benign and may be useful as treatments or adjuncts for dysmenorrhea.
Reference
1. Harel Z, et al. Supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the management of dysmenorrhea in adolescents. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1996;174:1335-1338.
Fugh-Berman A. Vitamin E and dysmenorrhea. Altern Ther Women's Health 2002;4:44.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content