Vasomotor symptoms (VMS), which include hot flashes and night sweats, are the most common symptoms reported during the menopausal transition and are experienced by as many as 80% of women. VMS can lead to increased healthcare encounters for symptom relief and reductions in quality of life. The degree to which VMS is bothersome is determined not only by how frequently it occurs but also by other factors such as duration of VMS, coexisting sleep problems, and the extent to which VMS interferes with daily activities or job-related activities. Hormone therapy (HT) is an effective treatment for reducing VMS, but use of this therapeutic approach must be individualized through weighing benefits with known risks, such as cardiovascular events or uterine and breast cancers. Based on age (> 45 years), currently half of the approximately 360,000 women Veterans who use Veterans Health Administration healthcare are perimenopausal or postmenopausal. Due in part to concerns about possible harms from long-term hormone therapy and in part to uncertain efficacy and safety of pharmacologic treatments, many women with VMS seek nonhormonal, nonpharmacologic treatment options.

Contents

• PREFACE
• ABSTRACT
  • INTRODUCTION
  • METHODS
  • RESULTS
  • CONCLUSION
  • ABBREVIATIONS TABLE
• INTRODUCTION
• METHODS
  • TOPIC DEVELOPMENT
  • SEARCH STRATEGY
  • STUDY SELECTION
  • DATA ABSTRACTION
  • QUALITY ASSESSMENT
  • DATA SYNTHESIS
  • RATING THE BODY OF EVIDENCE
  • PEER REVIEW
• RESULTS
  • LITERATURE FLOW
  • CHARACTERISTICS OF INCLUDED STUDIES
  • KQ: In women with vasomotor symptoms (VMS) that are associated with perimenopause or postmenopause, what are the effects on VMS, health-related quality of life, and adverse events of the following nonpharmacologic, nonhormonal interventions?
• SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION
  • LIMITATIONS
  • SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE
  • CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS
  • RESEARCH GAPS/FUTURE RESEARCH
  • CONCLUSIONS
• REFERENCES
• APPENDIX A. SEARCH STRATEGY
• APPENDIX B. CRITERIA USED IN QUALITY ASSESSMENT
• APPENDIX C. QUALITY ASSESSMENT RATINGS
• APPENDIX D. MEASUREMENT SCALES FOR MENOPAUSE
• APPENDIX E. PEER REVIEW COMMENTS/AUTHOR RESPONSES

Suggested citation:

Goldstein KM, Coeytaux RR, Williams Jr JW, Shepherd-Banigan M, Goode AP, McDuffie JR, Befus D, Adam S, Masilamani V, Van Noord MG. Nonpharmacologic Treatments for Menopause-Associated Vasomotor Symptoms. VA ESP Project #09-009; 2016.

This report is based on research conducted by the Evidence-based Synthesis Program (ESP) Center located at the Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC, funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Research and Development, Quality Enhancement Research Initiative. The findings and conclusions in this document are those of the author(s) who are responsible for its contents; the findings and conclusions do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States government. Therefore, no statement in this article should be construed as an official position of the Department of Veterans Affairs. No investigators have any affiliations or financial involvement (eg, employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties) that conflict with material presented in the report.