Peng Wenbo, Adams Jon, Sibbritt David W, Frawley Jane E
From the Australian Research Center in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Menopause. 2014 May;21(5):536-48. doi: 10.1097/GME.0b013e3182a46a3e.
This study aims to undertake the first critical review of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among menopausal women (a term here used to include premenopausal, perimenopausal and postmenopausal women) by focusing on the prevalence of CAM use and CAM users' characteristics, motivation, decision-making, and communication with healthcare providers.
A comprehensive search of 2002-2012 international literature in the Medline, CINAHL, AMED, and SCOPUS databases was conducted. The search was confined to peer-reviewed articles published in English with abstracts and reporting new empirical research findings regarding CAM use and menopause.
A considerable level of CAM use was observed among women in menopause. Many menopausal women use CAM concurrently with their conventional medicine. However, communication regarding CAM between menopausal women and healthcare providers seems less than optimal, with a demand for further information on the safety and efficacy of medicines. Existing literature is of variable methodological rigor, often presenting small sample sizes and low-quality data collection. Further rigorous research on this topic-including quantitative and qualitative methods using large national samples, where relevant-is required.
The findings of this critical review provide insights for those practicing and managing health care in this area of women's health. Healthcare providers should prepare to inform menopausal women about all treatment options, including CAM, and should be aware of the possible adverse effects of CAM and potential interactions between CAM and conventional medicine among women in menopause who are under their care.
本研究旨在首次对更年期女性（此处该术语用于涵盖绝经前、围绝经期和绝经后女性）使用补充和替代医学（CAM）的情况进行批判性综述，重点关注CAM的使用 prevalence 以及CAM使用者的特征、动机、决策过程，以及与医疗服务提供者的沟通情况。
对2002 - 2012年发表在Medline、CINAHL、AMED和SCOPUS数据库中的国际文献进行了全面检索。检索限于以英文发表的、带有摘要且报告有关CAM使用和更年期的新实证研究结果的同行评审文章。
观察到更年期女性中存在相当程度的CAM使用情况。许多更年期女性在使用传统药物的同时也使用CAM。然而，更年期女性与医疗服务提供者之间关于CAM的沟通似乎并不理想，她们需要更多关于药物安全性和有效性的信息。现有文献在方法严谨性方面参差不齐，常常样本量小且数据收集质量低。需要对该主题进行进一步严谨的研究——包括在相关情况下使用大型全国样本的定量和定性方法。
本次批判性综述的结果为从事该女性健康领域医疗实践和管理的人员提供了见解。医疗服务提供者应准备好告知更年期女性所有治疗选择，包括CAM，并应意识到CAM可能产生的不良反应以及在其护理下的更年期女性中CAM与传统药物之间可能的相互作用。
