Article

The treatment of climacteric symptoms.

Department of Obstretics and Gynecology, University Medical Center Regensburg, Germany.
04/2012; 109(17):316-23; quiz 324. DOI:10.3238/arztebl.2012.0316 pp.316-23; quiz 324
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT Peri- and postmenopausal women commonly suffer from climacteric symptoms. In this article, we provide information to help physicians recognize climacteric symptoms and treat them appropriately.
The information presented here is based on a selective search of the literature for pertinent articles that appeared from 2008 to early 2011, including the German S3 guideline on hormone therapy (HT) during and after menopause, which was published in 2009.
Perimenopausal women often suffer from climacteric symptoms. Typically, women undergoing menopause complain of heat waves and vaginal dryness. According to randomized controlled trials as well as national and international guidelines, HT is the most effective treatment for vasomotor symptoms and also improves vulvovaginal atrophy; for the latter indication, HT is preferably administered locally. Vaginal estrogen therapy lowers the frequency of recurrent urinary tract infections. However, HT is associated with an increased risk for a number of diseases, including stroke, thromboembolic events, gall-bladder diseases, and breast cancer. Alternative treatments for climacteric symptoms have little or no efficacy.
HT should only be used to treat climacteric symptoms after extensive patient education about its benefits and risks. Participatory decision-making is desirable. The generalized use of HT by all women with climacteric symptoms cannot be recommended.

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  • Article: Long term hormone therapy for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.
    C M Farquhar, J Marjoribanks, A Lethaby, Q Lamberts, J A Suckling
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    ABSTRACT: Hormone therapy (HT) is widely used for controlling menopausal symptoms. It has also been used for the management and prevention of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and dementia in older women but the evidence supporting its use for these indications is largely observational. To assess the effect of long-term HT on mortality, heart disease, venous thromboembolism, stroke, transient ischaemic attacks, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, gallbladder disease, cognitive function, dementia, fractures and quality of life. We searched the following databases up to November 2004: the Cochrane Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group Trials Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, Biological Abstracts. Relevant non-indexed journals and conference abstracts were also searched. Randomised double-blind trials of HT (oestrogens with or without progestogens) versus placebo, taken for at least one year by perimenopausal or postmenopausal women. Fifteen RCTs were included. Trials were assessed for quality and two review authors extracted data independently. They calculated risk ratios for dichotomous outcomes and weighted mean differences for continuous outcomes. Clinical heterogeneity precluded meta-analysis for most outcomes. All the statistically significant results were derived from the two biggest trials. In relatively healthy women, combined continuous HT significantly increased the risk of venous thromboembolism or coronary event (after one year's use), stroke (after 3 years), breast cancer (after 5 years) and gallbladder disease. Long-term oestrogen-only HT also significantly increased the risk of stroke and gallbladder disease. Overall, the only statistically significant benefits of HT were a decreased incidence of fractures and colon cancer with long-term use. Among relatively healthy women over 65 years taking continuous combined HT, there was a statistically significant increase in the incidence of dementia. Among women with cardiovascular disease, long-term use of combined continuous HT significantly increased the risk of venous thromboembolism. No trials focussed specifically on younger women. However, one trial analysed subgroups of 2839 relatively healthy 50 to 59 year-old women taking combined continuous HT and 1637 taking oestrogen-only HT, versus similar-sized placebo groups. The only significantly increased risk reported was for venous thromboembolism in women taking combined continuous HT; their absolute risk remained very low. HT is not indicated for the routine management of chronic disease. We need more evidence on the safety of HT for menopausal symptom control, though short-term use appears to be relatively safe for healthy younger women.
    Cochrane database of systematic reviews (Online) 02/2005; · 5.72 Impact Factor
Data provided are for informational purposes only. Although carefully collected, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The impact factor represents a rough estimation of the journal's impact factor and does not reflect the actual current impact factor. Publisher conditions are provided by RoMEO. Differing provisions from the publisher's actual policy or licence agreement may be applicable.

Keywords

Alternative treatments
 
climacteric symptoms
 
effective treatment
 
extensive patient education
 
gall-bladder diseases
 
generalized use
 
German S3 guideline
 
increased risk
 
international guidelines
 
menopause
 
national
 
Participatory decision-making
 
pertinent articles
 
recurrent urinary tract infections
 
risks
 
selective search
 
vaginal dryness
 
Vaginal estrogen therapy
 
vulvovaginal atrophy
 
women undergoing menopause
 

Claus Lattrich