The Impact of Oral Vitamin D Supplementation on Dysmenorrhea in Adolescents and Young Adults: Results of a Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo Controlled

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of the current study was to look at how vitamin D affected the degree of dysmenorrhea and menstrual blood loss.

Patients and Methods: Fifty single female college students, ranging in age from seventeen to twenty-five, participated in this double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised trial. Students who had vitamin D deficiency in addition to primary dysmenorrhea were divided into two groups: the experimental group (n = 25) and the control group (n = 25). Five days before to the expected start of their next menstrual cycle, the experimental group received 300,000 IU of vitamin D (50,000 IU, two tablets every eight hours), whereas the control group received a placebo. The effects of the supplement on the severity of dysmenorrhea and menstrual blood loss were measured one cycle prior and over the course of two subsequent cycles.

Results:The intervention resulted in a significant (p<0.05) decrease in the experimental group's mean scores on the visual analogue scale (VAS) and verbal multidimensional scoring system (VMS) during the first and second menstrual cycles, but not in the means score on the pictorial blood assessment chart (PBLAC).

Conclusion: The results imply that vitamin D supplementation may reduce the severity of primary dysmenorrhea and the need for pain medication. However, there was no appreciable effect of vitamin D supplementation on blood loss associated with menstruation.