The ‘Behind the Headlines’ service from NHS Choices has featured a quality assessment of press reports that the contraceptive pill ‘can ease the agony of period pain’ (reported by the Daily Mail, 18th January 2012).  The report was based on a cross-sectional study published in ‘Human Reproduction’. 

The assessment discusses the study’s design, results and conclusions, and critically appraises the related press reports.  The assessment notes a number of issues with the study and that the Daily Mail report was possibly influenced by a press release and that it over-interpreted the study’s results.  A BBC report on the study was also uncritical but pointed out that this is an unlicensed use of the contraceptive pill and commented on previous research that found the evidence for pain improvement was limited.

The authors of the assessment conclude that the study does not show that the pill reduces period pain.  It relied on women self-reporting pain in a postal questionnaire; such subjective experiences of pain vary and are influenced by many factors.  They comment that a well-designed, randomised controlled trial should be conducted to examine whether, and how far, the pill reduces the severity of period pain, comparing it to other existing treatments (e.g. painkillers, hot water bottle, and gentle exercise).