Review: plant based oestrogens do not relieve hot flushes or other menopausal symptoms
Q Are plant based oestrogens (phyto-oestrogens) effective and safe for women with hot flushes or other menopausal symptoms?
METHODS
Data sources:
Medline (1966 to March 2004), Cochrane Library, reference lists of retrieved studies and reviews, and hand searches of Menopause and Obstet Gynecol to identify abstracts of annual meetings.
Study selection and assessment:
English language randomised controlled trials (RCTs) ⩾4 weeks’ duration comparing supplements or foods containing phyto-oestrogens with placebo or non-phyto-oestrogen control in perimenopausal or postmenopausal women with hot flushes or other menopausal symptoms. Methodological quality of individual studies was assessed based on allocation concealment, blinding, intention to treat analysis, and follow up.
Outcomes:
frequency of hot flushes, changes in menopausal symptom scores, and adverse effects.
MAIN RESULTS
25 RCTs (n = 2348) (22 full reports and 3 abstracts) met the selection …
