Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopause Society
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To systematically review published articles for the prevalence of menopausal symptoms in Asian women. ⋯ Although there is a wide variation in the reported prevalence of menopausal symptoms, physical symptoms predominate, followed by psychological symptoms, vasomotor symptoms and sexual symptoms. Further studies of representative samples are necessary to understand whether the variations in prevalence reporting are a function of methodological issues or due to ethnic, cultural or other socioeconomic differences.
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The major cause of urogenital atrophy in menopausal women is estrogen loss. The symptoms are usually progressive in nature and deteriorate with time from the menopausal transition. The most prevalent urogenital symptoms are vaginal dryness, vaginal irritation and itching. ⋯ Atrophic changes of the vulva, vagina and lower urinary tract can have a large impact on the quality of life of the menopausal woman. However, hormonal and non-hormonal treatments can provide patients with the solution to regain the previous level of function. Therefore, clinicians should sensitively question and examine menopausal women, in order to correctly identify the pattern of changes in urogenital atrophy and manage them appropriately.
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Observational Study
A prospective study of DT56a (Femarelle®) for the treatment of menopause symptoms.
DT56a (Femarelle®) is a natural medication that contains a variety of phytoestrogens derived from tofu. Treatment with DT56a affects bones, vascular tissues and the nervous system in a manner similar to that of estrogen but DT56a acts as an estrogen antagonist in breast and uterine tissues. ⋯ Treatment with DT56a resulted in a significant reduction in the number and intensity of hot flushes in postmenopausal women, especially in those with frequent symptoms, and these effects were observed within the first month of treatment.
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The aim of this study was to translate the Women's Health Questionnaire (WHQ) into the Serbian language and assess its validity and reliability in a population of Serbian menopausal women. ⋯ The Serbian version of the WHQ showed very good reliability and validity in assessment of quality of life among menopausal women. The WHQ is applicable for both peri- and postmenopausal women.
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Systematic reviews of randomized, controlled trials (RCTs) are considered the highest level of evidence to inform clinical practice. Meta-analyses of large RCTs of calcium and/or vitamin D supplements completed in the last 15 years provide strong evidence for clinical recommendations. These meta-analyses with data for > 50,000 older adults reported that calcium with or without vitamin D has only weak, inconsistent effects on fracture, and that vitamin D without calcium has no effect on fracture. ⋯ The small risk of these important adverse effects, together with the moderate risk of minor side-effects such as constipation, probably outweighs any benefits of calcium supplements on fracture. These data suggest the role for calcium and vitamin D supplements in osteoporosis management is very limited. Neither calcium nor vitamin D supplements should be recommended for fracture prevention in community-dwelling adults, although vitamin D should be considered for prevention of osteomalacia in at-risk individuals.