ω3及ω6脂肪酸補充品對經痛的影響

Effect of ω3 and ω6 Fatty Acid Supplementation on Dysmenorrhea

經痛是婦科門診很常見的主訴症狀之ㄧ，常伴有頭痛、噁心、便秘或腹瀉、頻尿及嘔吐等症狀。50%的女性有經痛經驗，甚至有研究指出其盛行率高達90%。約10%的經期婦女因經痛導致每月有1-3天無法上課或上班。經痛治療藥物（前列腺素合成酶抑制劑），長期使用會造成如腎功能損傷及腸胃道出血等顯著不良影響，甚至有些已經被禁用。此篇論文回顧經痛的替代療法：GLA及omega-3脂肪酸的飲食補充。其已證實可減少發炎性前驅物的產生，相對增加抗發炎性物質，因而減輕發炎反應，減緩經痛症狀。另外，有幾種維他命及礦物質可加強GLA及omega-3的功能，與GLA及omega-3併用時也有減緩經痛症狀效果。適當的營養補充品對人體並無副作用，用於改善經痛症狀應是值得推薦的替代療法之ㄧ。

Menstrual pain or dysmenorrhea is one of the main complaints in woman clinics. The pain is often accompanied with other symptoms such as headache, nausea, constipation or diarrhea, urinary frequency, and vomiting. Over 50% of women report some type of pain during their monthly period. According to these reports, the prevalence of the complaint can reach as high as 90%. About 10% of those patients have indicated that the menstrual pain has left them incapacitated for work or school for 1 to 3 days. Dysmenorrhea is typically treated with medicine such as inhibitors of the prostaglandin synthase. It has been shown that chronic use of these drugs in treating inflammatory disorders is associated with significant adverse effects such as impaired kidney function and gastrointestinal bleeding. As a result, many of this type of drugs have been removed from the market. This communication reviews the alternative approach on management of dysmenorrhea. Evidence has demonstrated that dietary supplementation of GLA and omega-3 fatty acids lowers the level of pro-inflammatory markers while raise that of anti-inflammatory markers. As the degree of inflammation is decreased, the symptoms of dysmenorrhea are alleviated. Effects of vitamins and minerals on dysmenorrhea are also included in discussion. Those vitamins and minerals are known to modulate the metabolism of GLA and omega-3 fatty acids, as well as symptoms of dysmenorrhea. Since there were no known side-effects associated with supplementation of these nutrients, management of dysmenorrhea through nutrition modulation should be an applausive alternative to drugs.