Document Type : Meta- analysis
Authors
1 Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, Nursing and Midwifery School, Shahrood University of Medical Science, Shahrood, Iran.
2 Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3 School of Nursing and Midwifery, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
4 Department of Reproductive Health, School of medicine, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran
Abstract
Background:
Premenstrual disorder (PMS) is perhaps the most widely recognized issues among women of reproductive age. The utilization of natural therapies or complementary medicine has grown in recent years, especially among women.
Purpose
This study aimed to determine the efficacy of saffron on the treatment of PMS.
Method
Electronic searching of Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, Embase, Web of science, SID and Google Scholar was performed up to Jan 2024. Inclusion criteria consist of both English and Persian, published, clinical trials using saffron as medical for treatment of PMS. In the long run Five CTs met the inclusion criteria. The quality of these trials was evaluated by two researchers who carried out the data extraction, using Oxford Center for Evidence Based Medicine checklist. A total of three RCTs were ultimately included in a meta-analysis. Statistical analysis were performed by Comprehensive Meta-analysis (CMA) Version 2.
Results
Qualitative analysis revealed that 8-12 week of treatment with saffron could be effective in reducing the symptoms and severity of PMS and it might cause fewer side effects than chemical medicines. Three studies were included in the quantitative analysis, which resulted in a mean difference of 0.63 with 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.18-0.07), implying that the effects of saffron on PMS were statistically significant (p=0.03).
Conclusion
Although saffron has a positive effect on PMS but interpretation of results is limited because of methodological flaws of the included studies so further trials are still needed to confirm the current findings.
Keywords
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