Abstract
Introduction: Primary dysmenorrhea is considered as one of the main problems in women. This review study aimed to characterize the effect of micronutrients on primary dysmenorrhea.Methods: In this systematic and meta‐analysis study, the articles were searched at Cochrane library, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science databases. The searching process was conducted with the key terms related to dysmenorrhea and micronutrients. Risk of bias assessment was performed, using Rev Man 5.3 software. In view of the heterogeneity of some of the studies, they were analyzed, using a qualitative method (n=10), and only 6 studies were included in Meta analyze. STATA statistical software version 11 was used for the analysis.Results: In this study, finally 16 clinical trials were investigated. Most micronutrients studied in the relevant articles had anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties with a desirable effect on dysmenorrhea pain relief. Vitamins (K, D, B1, and E) and calcium, magnesium, zinc sulfate and boron contributed effectively to dysmenorrhea pain management. Two months after the intervention, there was a significant mean decrease in the pain score for the vitamin D intervention group (SMD: -1.02, 95% CI: -1.9 to – 0.14, P =0.024) , as well as in the vitamin E intervention group compared to placebo group (SMD: -0.47,95% CI:-0.74 to – 0.2, P = 0.001).Conclusion: Despite the paucity of related research, the studies indicated the potential effects of micronutrients on reducing the pain severity in primary dysmenorrhea. But more studies are needed to confirm the safety and effectiveness of various types of micronutrients on primary dysmenorrhea.
Highlights
Primary dysmenorrhea is considered as one of the main problems in women
This study is a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), assessing published articles in English from 2000 to 2017, searching through databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Web of science and Cochrane library
In this study, 16 clinical trials were included in a qualitative synthesis: out of 16 articles, with 1871 participants, 4 articles were about Vitamin E, 3 were about Vitamin D, 2 were about Vitamin B1, 3 were about Zinc, one was about vitamin K, one was about Vitamin D and Calcium, one was about Calcium carbonate and Magnesium stearate and one was about Boron
Summary
Primary dysmenorrhea is considered as one of the main problems in women. This review study aimed to characterize the effect of micronutrients on primary dysmenorrhea. Conclusion: Despite the paucity of related research, the studies indicated the potential effects of micronutrients on reducing the pain severity in primary dysmenorrhea. Primary dysmenorrhea is defined as a painful menstruation without any pelvic pathology.[3,4] Primary dysmenorrhea is considered as one of the main problems in women and in public health so that WHO refers to it as the main cause of chronic pelvic pain.[5] in addition to its huge economic burden,[6] dysmenorrhea affects different dimensions of life and causes limitations in daily activities[7,8] and low sleep quality,[9,10] as well as negatively affect the patient’s mood, lead to depression, stress and anxiety.[8,11,12] the main cause of primary dysmenorrhea is not well recognized, most studies show an increase in the levels of prostaglandins E2α (PGE2α), F2α (PGF2α), and leukotriene during menstruation and this, in turn, results in more uterine muscle contractions and cramps.[4,13,14] In case of primary dysmenorrhea, different treatment methods and dietary supplements including non-invasive interventions, treatment methods based on dietary plan and vitamins, herbal medicine, drug therapy.[15] Standard treatment for dysmenorrhea is non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and oral contraceptive (OC) pills. After one year of using hormonal contraceptives, stopped taking them due to their sideeffects.[18]
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