Effect of Curcumin Nanomicelle on the Intensity of Dysmenorrhea in Endometriosis Patients: A Randomized Triple-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial

Background: Consisting of endometrial tissue outside the uterus, endometriosis is a persistent gynecological illness that causes infertility, pelvic pain, and dysmenorrhea. Curcumin is a bioactive ingredient derived from the spice turmeric and has many pharmacological properties. This study aimed to determine how curcumin affected the severity of dysmenorrhea in patients with endometriosis. Methods: This research was a triple-blind, randomized-controlled clinical trial conducted on patients referred to the gynecological clinic at the Ghaem and Imam Reza hospitals in Mashhad, Iran. Participants were randomly allocated to the placebo (n=25) and curcumin nanomicelle (n=25) groups. Each patient received two capsules daily (intervention: 40 mg of curcumin nanomicelle; control: placebo) for three months. Before treatment and at the end of the first, second, and third months, the severity of dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, dyschezia, and chronic pelvic pain was measured using the visual analog scale (VAS). The data were analyzed using SPSS version 26. Results: The initial and final dysmenorrhea intensity scores differed by 1.66±2.05 and 4.56±1.66 in the placebo and curcumin groups, respectively (P<0.001). The placebo and curcumin groups had significantly higher rates of dyspareunia (P<0.02), dyschezia (P<0.02), and chronic pelvic pain (P<0.001). Conclusion: Although we have limitations, such as the small sample size and restricted generalizability of the results to other populations, our findings demonstrate the possible benefits of curcumin in the improvement of dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, dyschezia, and chronic pelvic pain in patients with endometriosis.