Fortified Dairy with Vitamin D3 Reduces Restless Legs Syndrome in Women with Severe PMS, Study Finds

Among 141 middle-aged women with abdominal obesity, 71 were assigned to receive fortified low-fat dairy products, while 70 received non-fortified low-fat dairy products. All participants completed both the Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST) and questionnaires assessing RLS.

The study led to the following findings:

• In women with severe PMS (PSST > 28), serum levels of vitamin D increased significantly following vitamin D fortification.
• The mean restless legs score in the severe PMS subgroup (PSST > 28) was significantly lower after the intervention.
• Serum Vitamin D levels significantly differed between intervention and control groups in all individuals (PSST < 19, PSST 19–28, and PSST > 28), but there were no significant differences between the RLS scores of the intervention and control groups in the three PMS subgroups.

"We found that consuming low-fat dairy products fortified with 1500 IU of nano-encapsulated vitamin D3 can alleviate restless legs syndrome (RLS) in women with severe symptoms who have low vitamin D levels," the researchers wrote.

"These results suggest a promising avenue for future research and the potential development of effective treatments for individuals with similar conditions. However, additional studies are required to validate these findings," they concluded.

Reference:

Sharifan, P., Sahranavard, T., Rashidmayvan, M. et al. Effect of dairy products fortified with vitamin d3 on restless legs syndrome in women with premenstrual syndrome, abdominal obesity and vitamin d deficiency: a pilot study. BMC Women's Health 24, 434 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-024-03159-z