A randomised controlled trial of vitamin E in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea

Objective  To study the effect of vitamin E in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea. Design  A randomised, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial. Setting  A secondary school in Tehran, Iran. Population  Two hundred and seventy‐eight girls aged 15–17 years who suffered from primary dysmenorrhoea....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology 2005-04, Vol.112 (4), p.466-469
Main Authors: Ziaei, S., Zakeri, M., Kazemnejad, A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Age of Onset
Antioxidants - therapeutic use
Biological and medical sciences
Double-Blind Method
Dysmenorrhea - drug therapy
Female
Female genital diseases
Gynecology
Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics
Humans
Medical sciences
Menstruation
Non tumoral diseases
Pain
Pain Measurement
Teenagers
Treatment Outcome
Vitamin E
Vitamin E - therapeutic use
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Summary:Objective  To study the effect of vitamin E in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea. Design  A randomised, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial. Setting  A secondary school in Tehran, Iran. Population  Two hundred and seventy‐eight girls aged 15–17 years who suffered from primary dysmenorrhoea. Methods  Participants were given 200 units of vitamin E or placebo twice a day, beginning two days before the expected start of menstruation and continued through the first three days of bleeding. Treatment was continued over four consecutive menstrual periods. Main outcome measures  The severity and duration of pain, and the amount of menstrual blood loss, at two and four months. A visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to record pain, and a validated Pictorial Blood Loss Assessment Chart (PBLAC) to measure menstrual loss. Results  In the vitamin E group, pain severity was lower with vitamin E at two months (median VAS score 3 vs 5, P > 0.001) and four months (0.5 vs 6, P > 0.001), pain duration was shorter at two months (mean 4.2 [7.1] hours vs 15 [17], P > 0.001) and at four months (1.6 [4.0] hours vs 17 [18] hours, P > 0.0001), and blood loss assessed by PBLAC score was lower at two months (54 [31] vs 70 [40], P > 0.0001) and at four months (46 [28] vs 70 [37], P > 0.0001). Conclusion  Vitamin E relieves the pain of primary dysmenorrhoea and reduces blood loss.
ISSN:1470-0328
1471-0528
DOI:10.1111/j.1471-0528.2004.00495.x