The most common symptom of the menopause is hot flashes;
however, not all women entering the menopause experience them. According to the
American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG), approximately 75% of
menopausal women in the United States experience them. Hormone replacement
therapy (HRT) can relieve hot flashes as well as other menopausal symptoms. A
new study evaluated the benefits from HRT on quality of life among women who do
not suffer from hot flashes. The findings were published on July 1 in the
journal Menopause.
 |
| Symptom of the Hotflash and Menopause |
Check this Article: Penile Implant Surgery in India Cost
The researchers conducted a study that evaluated the impact
of hot flashes and various forms of hormone therapy on health-related quality
of life as well as sexual well-being in women who had recently become
menopausal. The study group comprised 150 healthy women who were interviewed
regarding hot flashes and health-related quality of life with the Women’s
Health Questionnaire and the McCoy Female Sexuality Questionnaire). They were
also asked about menopause-related symptoms, and general health. The women were
divided into two groups: those with (72 women) and those without (78 women) hot
flashes. All women were prescribed with a six month regime with transdermal
estradiol (skin patch; 1 mg/day), oral estradiol (2 mg/day) with or without
medroxyprogesterone acetate (5 mg/day), or a placebo.
The investigators found that at the beginning of the study,
hot flashes most strongly affected sleep quality, bodily symptoms such as
muscle pains, menstrual cycle–resembling complaints, anxiety and fears,
decreased memory and concentration, and sexual behavior The different hormone
therapy regimens all relieved hot flashes with equal effectiveness; therefore,
the different regimens were combined into a single group for further
investigation. Among the women with baseline hot flashes, six months of HRT
significantly improved the scores for sleep, memory and concentration capacity,
as well as anxiety and fears. HRT use was found to have no significant impact
on these factors in women without baseline hot flashes.
The researchers concluded that hot flashes contribute
differently to various factors that affect health-related quality of life
shortly after menopause. Estradiol or an estradiol–medroxyprogesterone acetate
combination were equally effective for alleviating hot flashes and improvement in
health-related quality of life factors that were related to the elimination of
hot flashes. The noted that HRT use does not offer any detectable
quality-of-life benefit over placebo in women without disturbing baseline
flashes.
Most women who suffer from hot flashes are well aware of the
symptoms: a sudden sensation of heat that rushes into the upper body and face.
The skin may redden like a blush and a woman may break out in a sweat. A hot
flash may last from a few seconds to several minutes or longer. As noted by the
study authors, hot flashes can cause lack of sleep by frequently waking a woman
from a deep sleep. Lack of sleep may be noted by a woman as the most
troublesome of the menopause.
 |
| After Hormone Replacement Therapy is Better Health for Woman |
Take home message:
The lack of quality of life benefits from HRT among women
without hot flashes is an interesting finding. Further evaluation of this group
of women should be done to determine whether they are equally susceptible to
other postmenopausal conditions such as osteoporosis or vaginal dryness. Six
months of HRT for a woman just entering the menopause is inadequate to
determine bone loss.
No comments:
Post a Comment