Women's health during mid-life survey

Sluijs, Corinne Patching van der; Bensoussan, Alan; Liyanage, Liwan; Shah, Smita

doi:10.1097/01.gme.0000236937.36078.f4

Cited by 74 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The majority of symptoms reported were similar to those found in the non-Indigenous population of Australia [1,3,4,8,52]. Most notable was the reporting of the ‘traditional’ hot flushes and night sweats.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Exploring Australian Aboriginal Women’s experiences of menopause: a descriptive study

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundDespite extensive literature demonstrating differing experiences in menopause around the world, documentation of the experience of menopause in Australian Aboriginal women is scarce, and thus their menopausal experience is relatively unknown. This study aimed to understand Australian Aboriginal women’s understanding and experience of menopause and its impact on their lives.MethodsThe study was an exploratory qualitative study. Twenty-five Aboriginal women were recruited from a regional centre in the Mid-West region of Western Australia using opportunistic and snowballing sampling. Interviews and focus group discussions were undertaken from February 2011 to February 2012 using open-ended questioning with a yarning technique. Thematic analysis was undertaken of the transcribed interviews.ResultsA number of themes were revealed. These related to the language used, meanings and attitudes to menopause, symptoms experienced, the role of men, a lack of understanding, coping mechanisms and the attribution of menopausal changes to something else. The term “change of life” was more widely recognised and signified the process of ageing, and an associated gain of respect in the local community. A fear of menopausal symptoms or uncertainty about their origin was also common. Overall, many women reported insufficient understanding and a lack of available information to assist them and their family to understand the transition.ConclusionThere are similarities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal experiences of menopause, including similar symptom profiles. The current language used within mainstream health settings may not be appropriate to this population if it fails to recognise the importance of language and reflect the attributed meaning of menopause. The fear of symptoms and uncertainty of their relationship to menopause demonstrated a need for more information which has not adequately been supplied to Australian Aboriginal women through current services. While this study is with a select population of Aboriginal Australian women, it reveals the importance of acknowledging differences, particularly in use of language to convey ideas and support Aboriginal women experiencing menopause.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Exploring Australian Aboriginal Women’s experiences of menopause: a descriptive study

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, despite the effectiveness of HRT [2], many women refuse or discontinue treatment because of side effects such as vaginal bleeding, bloating and breast tenderness or due to concerns about an increased risk of cancer or other HRT-linked conditions [3-8]. Therefore, many women are seeking safer alternative therapies to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life [9-19]. A large number of these treatments come under the broad term of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although a number of studies have investigated the use of CAM during the menopausal transition [9-19], only one study was conducted in Italy [20], which investigated the use of HRT and other treatments for menopausal syndrome amongst a convenience sample of female medical doctors and the wives of doctors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of complementary and alternative medicine by women experiencing menopausal symptoms in Bologna

Cardini

Lesi²,

Lombardo³

et al. 2010

BMC Women's Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThe present study describes Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) use amongst Italian women transitioning through menopause. Popularity and perceived effectiveness of CAM treatments, use of pharmaceutical medications, characteristics of CAM users, the extent of communication between medical practitioners and women about their use of CAM, and variables associated with CAM use were also investigated.MethodsWomen, aged 45-65 years attending Family Planning and Women's Health clinics or Menopause Centres in Bologna were invited to complete a voluntary, anonymous, self administered questionnaire, which was used in a previous study in Sydney. The questionnaire was translated and adapted for use amongst Italian women. Data on general demographic and health characteristics, menopause related symptoms and the use of CAM and pharmaceutical treatments during the previous 12 months were collected.ResultsIn total, 1,203 women completed the survey, of which 1,106 were included in the final sample. Of women who had symptoms linked with menopause and/or used remedies to alleviate symptoms, 33.5% reported to have used CAM. Among these, 23.5% had consulted one or more practitioners and 24% had used at least one CAM product.Approximately nine out of ten respondents reported medical practitioners did not seek information about their use of CAM; while one third of CAM users did not disclose the use of CAM to their physician. Nevertheless, medical practitioners were the most popular source of information. From the multivariate analysis, variables associated with CAM use were: professional employment, time since the last natural menses, use of CAM for conditions other than menopause, and presence of some severe symptoms.ConclusionsThe relatively high prevalence of CAM use by women transitioning through menopause should encourage research initiatives into determining which CAM treatments are the safest and effective. The increasing and likely concomitant use of CAM with HRT and other pharmaceuticals underlines the need for the implementation of a surveillance system to report and monitor possible drug-herb adverse events. The discrepancy between women preferring to seek information about CAM from their medical doctor and the difficulties noted in communication between doctor and patient should encourage educational initiatives on CAM by health-care agencies and institutions.

show abstract

“…Current evidence does not support the use of most complementary medicines (CM) for VMS, with popular treatments such as black cohosh shown to be ineffective [15,16] and only modest benefits reported with soy [17]. Yet, over half of the women surveyed in a 2006 Sydney study reported using CM for their menopausal symptoms, with acupuncturists being the second most popular therapists visited [18]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acupuncture for menopausal vasomotor symptoms: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Pirotta

Teede

et al. 2014

Trials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundHot flushes and night sweats (vasomotor symptoms) are common menopausal symptoms, often causing distress, sleep deprivation and reduced quality of life. Although hormone replacement therapy is an effective treatment, there are concerns about serious adverse events. Non-hormonal pharmacological therapies are less effective and can also cause adverse effects. Complementary therapies, including acupuncture, are commonly used for menopausal vasomotor symptoms. While the evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating vasomotor symptoms is inconclusive, acupuncture has a low risk of adverse effects, and two small studies suggest it may be more effective than non-insertive sham acupuncture. Our objective is to assess the efficacy of needle acupuncture in improving hot flush severity and frequency in menopausal women. Our current study design is informed by methods tested in a pilot study.Methods/designThis is a stratified, parallel, randomised sham-controlled trial with equal allocation of participants to two trial groups. We are recruiting 360 menopausal women experiencing a minimum average of seven moderate hot flushes a day over a seven-day period and who meet diagnostic criteria for the Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnosis of Kidney Yin deficiency. Exclusion criteria include breast cancer, surgical menopause, and current hormone replacement therapy use. Eligible women are randomised to receive either true needle acupuncture or sham acupuncture with non-insertive (blunt) needles for ten treatments over eight weeks. Participants are blinded to treatment allocation. Interventions are provided by Chinese medicine acupuncturists who have received specific training on trial procedures. The primary outcome measure is hot flush score, assessed using the validated Hot Flush Diary. Secondary outcome measures include health-related quality of life, anxiety and depression symptoms, credibility of the sham treatment, expectancy and beliefs about acupuncture, and adverse events. Participants will be analysed in the groups in which they were randomised using an intention-to-treat analysis strategy.DiscussionResults from this trial will significantly add to the current body of evidence on the role of acupuncture for vasomotor symptoms. If found to be effective and safe, acupuncture will be a valuable additional treatment option for women who experience menopausal vasomotor symptoms.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12611000393954 11/02/2009.

show abstract

Women's health during mid-life survey

Cited by 74 publications

References 30 publications

Exploring Australian Aboriginal Women’s experiences of menopause: a descriptive study

Exploring Australian Aboriginal Women’s experiences of menopause: a descriptive study

The use of complementary and alternative medicine by women experiencing menopausal symptoms in Bologna

Acupuncture for menopausal vasomotor symptoms: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About