The Effectiveness of Fish Oil and Ginger Drink in Reducing Dysmenorrhea: A Meta Analysis

Abstract

Background: Dysmenorrhea causes 34-50% of women to be unable to work in the workplace and 40% of adolescent girls are absent from school. Fish oil and ginger are used as alter\xadnatives to NSAIDs, because although the use of NSAIDs is effective in reducing dysmenorrhea pain, they have side effects that are harmful to health after long-term conventional therapy. This study aims to estimate the magnitude of the effect of fish oil and ginger in reducing dysmenorrhea in women of reproductive age. Subjects and Method: This was a meta-analysis and systematic study. The articles used were obtained from PubMed, Science Direct, ProQuest, Springer Link, and Google Scholar. The inclusion criteria used were full text art\xadicles with Randomized Control Trial (RCT). The study subjects are women of pro\xadductive age. The treatment given was the con\xadsumption of fish oil or ginger with a placebo comparison, dysmenorrhea assessment using standardized measuring instruments such as VAS, Cox, ques\xadtionnaires, etc. Articles published in English. The PICO Research Problem are population= women of reproductive age, inter\xadvention= fish oil or ginger, comparison= placebo, and out\xadcome= dys\xadmenorrhea. The study was assessed using an effect size (Standar\xaddized Mean Diffe\xadrence). Meta analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 with Random Effect Model . Results: A total of 14 articles were reviewed in a meta-analysis in this study. Meta-analysis of 6 articles showed that fish oil reduced dys\xadmenorrhea pain in women of reproductive age higher than placebo (Standardized Mean Diffe\xadrence= -1.06; 95% CI= -1.76 to -0.36; p= 0.003). Meta-analysis of 8 articles showed that ginger reduced dysmenorrhea pain in women of childbearing age more than placebo (Standar\xaddized Mean Difference= -0.77; 95% CI= -1.26 to -0.27; p=0.002). Conclusion: Fish oil and ginger are effective in reducing dysmenorrhea pain in women of reproductive age. Keywords: fish oil, ginger, and dysmenorrhea Correspondence:\xa0 Isnaini Novitasari. Masters Program in Public Health, Universitas Sebelas Maret. Jl. Ir. Su\xadtami 36A, Surakarta 57126, Central Java. Email: [email protected]. Mo\xadbile: 085921790588. Journal of Maternal and Child Health (2021), 06(03): 353-364 https://doi.org/10.26911/thejmch.2021.06.03.10