Exercise for vasomotor menopausal symptoms

Abstract

Main results We included five RCTs (733 women) comparing exercise with no active treatment, exercise with yoga and exercise with HT. The evidence was of low quality: Limitations in study design were noted, along with inconsistency and imprecision. In the comparison of exercise versus no active treatment (three studies, n = 454 women), no evidence was found of a difference between groups in frequency or intensity of vasomotor symptoms (SMD-0.10, 95% CI-0.33 to 0.13, three RCTs, 454 women, I 2 = 30%, low-quality evidence). Nor was any evidence found of a difference between groups in the frequency or intensity of vasomotor symptoms when exercise was compared with yoga (SMD-0.03, 95% CI-0.45 to 0.38, two studies, n = 279 women, I 2 = 61%, low-quality evidence). It was not possible to include one of the trials in the meta-analyses; this trial compared three groups: exercise plus soy milk, soy milk only and control; results favoured exercise relative to the comparators, but study numbers were small. One trial compared exercise with HT, and the HT group reported significantly fewer flushes in 24 hours than the exercise group (mean difference 5.8, 95% CI 3.17 to 8.43, 14 participants). None of the trials found evidence of a difference between groups with respect to adverse effects, but data were very scanty. Authors' conclusions Evidence was insufficient to show whether exercise is an effective treatment for vasomotor menopausal symptoms. One small study suggested that HT is more effective than exercise. Evidence was insufficient to show the relative effectiveness of exercise when compared with HT or yoga.

To exercise, or, not to exercise, during menopause and beyond

“…HRT has ben shown to alleviate such symptoms but as indicated can have serious side effects. Lifestyle modification interventions, including structured exercise and physical activity, have the potential to reduce vasomotor menopausal symptoms [18,44]. In fact, in the longitudinal Melbourne Women's Midlife Health Project, in which 438 women were followed over 8 years, those who exercised every day at baseline were 49% less likely to report hot flashes, and those whose exercise levels decreased were more likely to report hot flashes [45].…”

“…The type of exercise intervention was analysed amongst 6 eligible studies in the management of vasomotor menopausal symptoms and was compared to HRT [69]. There was insufficient evidence demonstrating that exercise was effective in treating vasomotor menopausal symptoms, and, it was not clear whether exercise was more beneficial compared to HRT or yoga [69].…”

“…The type of exercise intervention was analysed amongst 6 eligible studies in the management of vasomotor menopausal symptoms and was compared to HRT [69]. There was insufficient evidence demonstrating that exercise was effective in treating vasomotor menopausal symptoms, and, it was not clear whether exercise was more beneficial compared to HRT or yoga [69]. In addition, data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health including 3,330 women suggested that no improvements in vasomotor or psychological symptoms and only marginal improvements in somatic symptoms were noted when physical activity was introduced as a factor influencing these symptoms [65].…”

Healthy aging and age-adjusted nutrition and physical fitness

“…Regular physical activity has namely been suggested to increase hypothalamic opioid activity and may therefore again stabilize thermoregulation. A number of cross sectional studies and a few intervention studies [78][79][80][81] have since then been reported and most of them suggest but do not prove that regular physical activity may decrease the risk of having vasomotor symptoms or reduce the symptoms. The recent Cochrane review concluded that existing studies provide insufficient evidence that exercise is an effective treatment for vasomotor menopausal symptoms, or whether exercise is more effective than hormone replacement therapy or yoga [81].…”

“…A number of cross sectional studies and a few intervention studies [78][79][80][81] have since then been reported and most of them suggest but do not prove that regular physical activity may decrease the risk of having vasomotor symptoms or reduce the symptoms. The recent Cochrane review concluded that existing studies provide insufficient evidence that exercise is an effective treatment for vasomotor menopausal symptoms, or whether exercise is more effective than hormone replacement therapy or yoga [81]. It may be added that the type of activity is probably essential in order to reduce vasomotor instability, at least if the opioid theory will prove to be correct, since strength training including large muscle groups is probably more effective in this respect than e.g.…”