Adni, L. 2021 A systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of evening primrose oil for mastalgia treatment
The results show that EPO was a good as topical NSAIDs, Danazol, and Vitamin E for the treatment of Breast pain. EPO does not increase adverse events such as nausea, abdominal bloating and weight gain compared to placebo or other treatments.
This meta-analysis incorporates 13 trials of EPO with 1752 randomised patients vs either placebo or other treatments for mastalgia
There have been many studies using EPO to treat PMS. Many are specifically to treat Clinical Mastalgia, which is severe breast pain that may – or may not – be associated with the menstrual cycle.
DOSAGE and DURATION the dosages of EPO varied from 1-4g/day, and trial durations from 2-12 months. Findings suggest that both higher doses and longer time periods may be needed to achieve maximum benefit.
POPULATION STUDIED –diagnosis of Mastalgia can include different subtypes (including both ‘cyclical’ and ‘non-cyclical’). Symptoms also remain essentially subjective.
MEASURES USED – This means clinical trials rely primarily on subjective assessments, usually made by the women themselves using self rating techniques like daily diaries and questionnaires. These kinds of measures are generally considered less robust.
The meta-analyse of clinical trials compars oral EPO treatment with either placebo, or with 3 other treatments for mastalgia – topical NSAIDs, Danazol, and Vitamin E.
However, in each case, the pooled results show that EPO was at least as effective as the comparison treatment.
Adni, L. L. A., Norhayati, M. N., Rosli, R. R. M., & Muhammad, J. (2021). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of evening primrose oil for mastalgia treatment. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126295
