February 27, 2012 — Women with dysmenorrhea who take a single high dose of vitamin D suffer much less menstrual pain and have no need of pain medications for any reason for up to 2 months, a new study has found. “To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the effect of a single high dose of vitamin D in primary dysmenorrhea,” wrote the study authors, led by Antonino Lasco, MD, from the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Messina, Italy. “Our data support the use of cholecalciferol in these patients, especially when exhibiting low plasmatic levels of 25(OH)D [25-hydroxyvitamin D],” they write. The study is published February 27 in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Pain Trigger Dysmenorrhea affects almost one half of menstruating women. The pelvic pain is believed to be triggered by excessive uterine production of prostaglandins, synthesized from omega-6 fatty acids before menses, that control vasoconstriction and uterine contractions. According to the stu...