The Pill and relief of severe period pain
The results of a large study, published in the Human Reproduction journal, confirm the efficiency of the combined contraceptive Pill to alleviate period pain, known as dysmenorrhea in medical terms.
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Between 50-66% of young women suffer from painful periods. This pain usually occurs during the first two years of a young girl’s periods (primary dysmenorrhea), while secondary dysmenorrhea occurs at around the age of 30. Severe period pain can be debilitating, causing monthly sick leave for workers or school goers.
- In cases of secondary dysmenorrhea, a medical visit is recommended to identify the reasons for pain and to eliminate any eventual more serious disorders, such as fibroids or endometriosis.
- In cases of primary dysmenorrhea, treatment generally involves anti-inflammatory, anti-spasm and or analgesic medication. And while not officially recognised by the European Medicines Agency, some doctors do prescribe the combined oral contraceptive to treat severe period pain.
Dr Ingela Lindh, and her colleagues of the Gothenburg Institute of Clinical Sciences in Sweden, surveyed three groups of young women aged 19 in 1981, 1991 and 2001, then 5 years later, at the age of 24, to find out if they suffered from dysmenorrhea, and if they were taking oral contraceptives. The women filled a 40-response questionnaire, with both general questions (height, weight, medical history) and specific (menstrual pain and contraceptive use).
Period pain was evaluated using 2 measures: VMS – verbal multidimensional scale to determine low, moderate or high pain levels; and VAS – visual analogic scale, which gives a pain level in relation to a 10cm scale.
The Pill relieves period pain
Nearly 1,400 women participated in the study, which unearthed a significant difference in pain between those taking The Pill and the others. "We found that combined oral contraceptive use reduced dysmenorrhoea by 0.3 units, which means that every third woman went one step down on the VMS scale, for instance from severe pain to moderate pain, and which meant that they suffered less pain, improved their working ability and there was a decrease in the need for analgesics," Lindh explained. "On the VAS scale there was a reduction in pain of nine millimetres."
The research team also noted that those women born in 1982 complained more about period pain, evoking higher levels of pain, than those born in 1962.
“We are unsure why this is,” said Dr Lindh. “It may be due to changes in the type of oral contraceptive used, for example, differences in oestrogen content and progestrogen type, or a different appreciation of pain in the women born in later years, in that they may be more pain sensitive or are more prepared to complain about pain than women of the same age but born earlier.”
To formally include this in the treatment of dysmenorrhea, the drug companies will have to undertake clinical studies. In the meantime, prescription of a combined oral contraceptive pill remains recognised only for contraceptive use.
Source:
“The effect of combined oral contraceptives and age on dysmenorrhea: an epidemiological study,” Hum. Reprod. (2012) doi: 10.1093/humrep/der417
Copyright © 2012 Doctissimo
Posted 25.01.2012
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