Abstract
Background Premenstrual disorders involve physical, behavioral, and mood variations that affect women of childbearing age and interfere with family relationships, household responsibilities, professional duties, and social activities. Objectives Considering the side effects of conventional medications, their use is not recommended except in severe cases of premenstrual disorders. Nowadays, there is a tendency to use traditional and complementary medicine that offers various treatments. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the impacts of garlic as a herbal medicine on the severity of premenstrual symptoms. Methods This study was a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial. After identification of participants with moderate-to-severe PMS through the premenstrual symptoms screening tools questionnaire (PSST), they were randomly assigned to placebo (n = 64) or garlic (n = 65) groups. Each participant received one tablet daily for three consecutive cycles and logged the severity of their symptoms in the PSST questionnaire during the intervention period. Results There was no significant difference between the two groups in the baseline level of premenstrual symptoms before the intervention. After treatment with garlic for three consecutive cycles, the total score of the severity of premenstrual symptoms significantly (P < 0.001) reduced from 34.09 ± 7.31 to 11.21 ± 7.17. In the placebo group, this score changed from 33.35 ± 7.96 to 24.28 ± 7.22. The difference between mean changes in the two groups was 13.78, with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI) of 11.23–16.33. No serious side effects were observed in either group. Conclusion Our findings highlight the potential effect of garlic in reducing the severity of premenstrual symptoms; therefore, the use of garlic can be considered as an alternative therapy in the prevention and treatment of premenstrual disorders.
Highlights
Premenstrual disorder (PMD) involves affective, behavioral, and somatic symptoms which occur monthly during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and subside after the onset of menstruation [1, 2]. e International Society for the Study of Premenstrual Disorders (ISPMD) newly issued diagnostic standards for PMD present both premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) as one disorder called PMD
Research has investigated the effect of garlic on other female disorders such as dysmenorrhea and PCOS, there is a paucity of studies assessed the effects of garlic on PMS. erefore, the present study aims to explore the efficacy of garlic on young women with PMS
Study Design and Setting. e current study was a singlecenter with a double-blind, randomized parallel-controlled trial design conducted in the Nasibeh dormitory of Tehran between April 2018 and November 2018. e study protocol was presented to and approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS)
Summary
Premenstrual disorder (PMD) involves affective, behavioral, and somatic symptoms which occur monthly during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and subside after the onset of menstruation [1, 2]. e International Society for the Study of Premenstrual Disorders (ISPMD) newly issued diagnostic standards for PMD present both premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) as one disorder called PMD. Premenstrual disorder (PMD) involves affective, behavioral, and somatic symptoms which occur monthly during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and subside after the onset of menstruation [1, 2]. E purpose of the current study was to investigate the impacts of garlic as a herbal medicine on the severity of premenstrual symptoms. After identification of participants with moderate-to-severe PMS through the premenstrual symptoms screening tools questionnaire (PSST), they were randomly assigned to placebo (n 64) or garlic (n 65) groups. Each participant received one tablet daily for three consecutive cycles and logged the severity of their symptoms in the PSST questionnaire during the intervention period. After treatment with garlic for three consecutive cycles, the total score of the severity of premenstrual symptoms significantly (P < 0.001) reduced from 34.09 ± 7.31 to 11.21 ± 7.17. This score changed from 33.35 ± 7.96 to 24.28 ± 7.22
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