Menopause & HormonesEvidence check
Sage for Hot Flashes: Extract Trials, Dose Labels and Their Limits
Small studies suggest a benefit, but the preparation, analysis group and treatment duration change how much the findings can tell you.
ArticlesTopic 09
Menopause & Hormones
Hot flashes, night sweats and the body that suddenly changed the rules.
Menopause & HormonesEvidence check
Valerian for Hot Flashes: Dose Conflicts and What the Trial Tables Show
Valerian alone and a fennel-valerian mixture produced different findings across eight-week studies.
Menopause & HormonesEvidence check
Does Paced Breathing Reduce Hot Flashes? What Three Trials Found
Daily breathing practice did not establish a useful hot-flash benefit. The studies checked more than whether participants felt better afterward.
Menopause & HormonesEvidence check
Progesterone Alone for Hot Flashes: Three Trials With Different Results
An early postmenopause trial favored oral progesterone. A perimenopause trial missed its primary outcome, and a later dose comparison stopped early.
Menopause & HormonesEvidence check
S-Equol for Hot Flashes: What the Trials Selected and Measured
A Japanese placebo trial found a benefit in selected participants. Screening exclusions, incomplete analysis and a soy-comparator pilot affect the interpretation.
Menopause & HormonesEvidence check
Can Strength Training Reduce Hot Flashes? The Trials and Follow-Up
One 15-week trial found fewer moderate and severe episodes. A two-year follow-up and a newer combined exercise trial show why the outcome and timeframe matter.
Menopause & HormonesEvidence check
Do Migraines Get Worse in Perimenopause? What Studies Show
Migraine often changes around menopause, but not in one direction. In a US survey of 3,664 women with migraine, 12% of perimenopausal women had headaches on 10 or more days a month, against 8% before the transition. After a natural menopause, an Italian study found migraine improved in almost two-thirds. Yet in a Norwegian study, nearly half of women still had migraine after menopause. Here is what to expect and when to get help.
Menopause & HormonesEvidence check
Dry Eyes After Menopause: Does HRT Help or Hurt? What Studies Show
Dry eye is common in women over 50: in a US survey of nearly 40,000 women, about 1 in 13 had it. Whether hormone therapy helps is mixed. In a study of 25,665 women, those on estrogen alone had about 70% higher odds of dry eye. Yet small trials pooled in a 2020 review found hormone therapy improved tear and eye-surface measures. Here is how to read the conflict.
Menopause & HormonesGuide
Taking Duavee? Check Other Estrogen and Progestin Prescriptions
Duavee has a specific warning about other hormone medicines. Bring the exact products and ask for written changeover instructions.
Menopause & HormonesEvidence check
Early Menopause and Heart Disease: What Studies Show
When periods stop early, the heart may feel it. Pooling data on 301,438 women from five regions, researchers found that menopause before 40 went with about 1.55 times the risk of a first heart attack, angina or stroke, and menopause at 40 to 44 about 1.3 times, compared with menopause at 50 or 51. Surgical removal of both ovaries added more risk, and HRT appeared to lower it. Here is what this means.
Menopause & HormonesEvidence check
New Asthma Around Menopause? What Studies Show About HRT
Some women develop asthma for the first time in midlife, and researchers have long suspected hormones. In a Northern European study of 2,322 women, those who went through menopause had 2 to 3 times the odds of new asthma. But studies of hormone therapy disagree: two cohorts linked HRT, especially estrogen alone, to more new asthma, while a UK study of 353,173 women linked it to less. Here is how to make sense of it.
Menopause & HormonesGuide
Five Years on Alendronate: Should You Take a 'Drug Holiday'? What Experts Advise
The rare thigh-bone fractures linked to bone drugs like alendronate become more likely with longer use. A bone society task force suggests reassessing after 5 years of pills or 3 years of infusions: continuing for higher-risk women, and considering a 2- to 3-year break for others. A study of 196,000 women shows why the decision depends on your risk.
