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The NIMH Premenstrual Syndrome Workshop has developed specific criteria for PMS. They include a history of cyclic symptoms of moderate severity and a two-month prospective documentation of daily symptoms, increasing 50% in the luteal phase. These researchers randomized 466 women of reproductive age who met these criteria and who had symptoms including mood swings, depression, irritability, anxiety, anger, or crying spells to either placebo or 1,200 mg of elemental calcium per day for three menstrual cycles. Women recorded symptoms daily; 441 patients completed the trial.
By the third treatment cycle, women who received calcium treatment experienced an overall 48% reduction in total symptom scores from baseline; women taking placebo reported …