%0 Journal Article
%T Symptom reporting and quality of life in the Estonian Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy Trial
%A Piret Veerus
%A Krista Fischer
%A Sirpa-Liisa Hovi
%A Helle Karro
%A Mati Rahu
%A Elina Hemminki
%J BMC Women's Health
%D 2008
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1472-6874-8-5
%X 1823 women participated in the Estonian Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy (EPHT) Trial between 1999 and 2004. Women were randomized to open-label continuous combined hormone therapy or no treatment, or to blind hormone therapy or placebo. The average follow-up period was 3.6 years. Prevalence of symptoms and quality of life according to EQ-5D were assessed by annually mailed questionnaires.In the hormone therapy arms, less women reported hot flushes (OR 0.20; 95% CI: 0.14¨C0.28), sweating (OR 0.56; 95% CI: 0.44¨C0.72), and sleeping problems (OR 0.66; 95% CI: 0.52¨C0.84), but more women reported episodes of vaginal bleeding (OR 19.65; 95% CI: 12.15¨C31.79). There was no difference between the trial arms in the prevalence of other symptoms over time. Quality of life did not depend on hormone therapy use.Postmenopausal hormone therapy decreased vasomotor symptoms and sleeping problems, but increased episodes of vaginal bleeding, and had no effect on quality of life.ISRCTN35338757The effect of menopausal transition on women's lives is complex and includes changes in physical health, psychosomatic domains, and personal life [1]. Health-related quality of life may be severely compromised in women with vasomotor symptoms [2]. Up to 40% of women in Sweden experience vasomotor symptoms until the age of 64 years [3]. Postmenopausal hormone therapy has for a long time been the recommended first choice to alleviate hot flushes and night sweats [4-7]. Hormone therapy may have side effects such as vaginal bleeding, breast tenderness, migraine headaches, mood alterations, and abdominal bloating that may affect quality of life [8]. Besides vasomotor symptoms, sleep and sexual problems are related to postmenopausal status [9,10].Population-based studies indicate that hormone therapy improves vasomotor symptoms and sexual problems [11], but not quality of life [12]. In the Heart and Estrogen/Progestin Replacement Study (HERS), women with hot flushes had improvements in emotional measures of
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6874/8/5