Open-Label Placebo Plus Treatment Rationale Effective for PMS

FRIDAY, March 28, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Open-label placebo (OLP) provided with a treatment rationale is effective and safe for premenstrual syndrome (PMS), according to a study published online March 25 in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine.Antje Frey Nascimento, from the University of Basel in Switzerland, and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial involving 150 women aged 18 to 45 years with PMS or premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Participants were randomly assigned to treatment as usual (TAU; 50 women), OLP without treatment rationale (OLP−; 50 women), or OLP with treatment rationale (OLP+; 50 women); OLP consisted of two placebo pills per day for six weeks.The researchers found that across three menstrual cycles (MC1 to MC3), there was a difference between the groups in symptom intensity and interference. At MC3, mean symptom intensity was lower for OLP+ versus TAU and OLP− (b = −9.97 and −6.10), while no difference was seen between TAU and OLP−. At MC3, mean interference was lower for OLP+ than for TAU or OLP− (b = −1.23 and −1.10), with no difference between TAU and OLP−. There were reports of four nonserious adverse events in OLP− and OLP+ (one and three, respectively). High adherence was seen to the OLP intervention (93.18 ± 18.95 percent), with no between-group difference."Considering our results as much as the individual and societal burden of PMS, OLP treatment could serve as an acceptable, efficacious, and safe intervention for PMS," the authors write.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Open-Label Placebo Plus Treatment Rationale Effective for PMS

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