A REVIEW of the biomedical evidence for the treatment of menopausal symptoms has found little evidence that complementary and alternative therapies are effective.
The Women's Health Council, which published the research, said it could not recommend such treatments to relieve specific symptoms. Instead, the report endorses the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) but says women should use the lowest effective dose for the shortest time.
The report, The Menopause and Me, found that half of women who have experienced the menopause believe it had a substantial effect on their lives. It includes studies into women's experience of the menopause, public attitudes to it, and reviews biomedical research.
It found that just over half of women over 35 considered themselves informed about the subject while only 7 per cent of men did. Almost 60 per cent of women aged 35 to 54 said they wanted more information about it.
Almost one in five Irish females are aged over 40 and will need support and information when facing the menopause, it found.
Some 475 women over 40 and almost 1,000 adults over 15 were surveyed, and 39 women were interviewed about their experience of menopause.
The top four symptoms were hot flushes, night sweats, irritability and mood swings. Women also complained of low energy levels, memory loss and weight gain. Only 8 per cent of women in the study reported no symptoms.
Along with improving menopausal symptoms, HRT was found to protect against colon cancer and fractures due to osteoporosis. However, it was found to increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, blood clots and strokes.
The biomedical review found that regular, moderate physical activity may relieve symptoms and women of normal weight had fewer hot flushes. Heavy drinking and smoking exacerbated hot flushes.
The review found little evidence to support complementary or alternative therapies, though ginseng may have some beneficial effect on mood while ginkgo may be beneficial in improving memory.
The report found that the women surveyed did not suffer "empty nest syndrome" when their children left home. Many described themselves as "mellow" at the end of the menopause.
The study on public attitudes found that men remained largely uninformed about it, though men older than 65 were best informed.
The director of the Women's Health Council, Geraldine Luddy, said an information leaflet on the menopause is to be launched in May and will be available in GP surgeries and health clinics.
Launching the report, Minister for Health Mary Harney said it was very important that women were informed about it.
The survey: main points
50 per cent of women surveyed who have experienced the menopause said it had a substantial effect on their lives
Only 8 per cent said the menopause had no effect at all
Just over half of women over 35 considered themselves informed about the menopause while only 7 per cent of men did
The top four symptoms are hot flushes, night sweats, irritability and mood swings
Hormone Replacement Therapy is the most effective treatment for symptoms
There is no concrete evidence to support the use of complementary or alternative therapies to relieve symptoms
Women's Voices - Compiled by Muiris Houston
On menopause symptoms:
"My memory, for instance, was worse, and it just seems to be getting worse every day. Like I'd get out of the car maybe, to pay for the petrol, my husband's putting it in and he's shouting after me to get a paper, and I come out and I'm forgetting the paper, you know? Sometimes the butter might end up in the bread bin and the bread in the fridge, things like that." - Judith
On HRT:
"Then the hot flushes started and they were just awful. It was like every half an hour. All my life I've been into alternative medicine, and I just went straight to the doctor and said, 'Give me the pills!'"- Rosemary
On sources of support:
"My husband is very good. My man is very good. So I have a very great support there. Not that there aren't times when he finds it a bit too much, but he says, 'Alright, alright, I know what's wrong,' and lets me away with it." - Niamh
On after the menopause:
"I think it is good now, at the time your mind used to race. Now when I was in the menopause everything used to race in front of me and I used to think of all the bad things that could happen. I don't think like that any more, I think of all the good things that could happen." - Liz
Source: Women's Health Council. The Menopause and Me 2008