Department of Critical Care Nursing, Razi Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Nursing Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Front Public Health. 2022 Aug 22;10:947061. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.947061. eCollection 2022.
Postmenopausal women are interested in using complementary and alternative medicine because of their menopausal symptoms and the side effects of chemical medications and hormone therapy. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between the use of complementary medicine (CAM) and menopausal symptoms among postmenopausal women.
This cross-sectional study was conducted among 288 postmenopausal women who were referred to health centers in Kerman, southeastern Iran, from 2020 to 2021. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the CAM questionnaire, and the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS).
The mean score for the menopausal symptoms of the participants was 8.73 ± 6.11. Only 28.8% of the participants had no/little symptoms. About 65.3% of the participants used at least one type of CAM in the previous year. The most commonly used types of CAM were nutritional supplements, prayer, and medicinal herbs. A significant association was found between the use of medicinal herbs, dry cupping, relaxation and meditation, prayer, and menopausal symptoms. Women experiencing menopausal symptoms used more CAM methods than those without menopausal symptoms (Odds ratio = 2.25, 95% confidence interval = 1.33-3.80).
The study results indicated that the severity of menopausal symptoms and scores in somatic-vegetative and urogenital domains were higher in CAM users compared to non-CAM users. But there was no significant difference in the psychological domain between CAM and non-CAM users. Based on the results, it is suggested that more research be done in different communities with different healthcare systems to find out how complementary and alternative medicine affects menopausal symptoms in women.
由于围绝经期症状和化学药物及激素治疗的副作用，绝经后妇女对使用补充和替代药物感兴趣。因此，本研究旨在调查补充医学（CAM）的使用与绝经后妇女围绝经期症状之间的关系。
本横断面研究于 2020 年至 2021 年在伊朗东南部克尔曼的健康中心对 288 名绝经后妇女进行，使用人口统计学问卷、CAM 问卷和绝经评定量表（MRS）收集数据。
参与者的围绝经期症状平均得分为 8.73±6.11。仅有 28.8%的参与者无/很少有症状。约 65.3%的参与者在过去一年中至少使用过一种类型的 CAM。最常用的 CAM 类型是营养补充剂、祈祷和草药。草药、拔罐、放松和冥想、祈祷与围绝经期症状之间存在显著关联。有围绝经期症状的女性比无围绝经期症状的女性使用更多的 CAM 方法（比值比=2.25，95%置信区间=1.33-3.80）。
研究结果表明，与非 CAM 用户相比，CAM 用户的围绝经期症状严重程度和躯体-植物神经及泌尿生殖领域评分更高，但在心理领域，CAM 和非 CAM 用户之间无显著差异。基于研究结果，建议在具有不同医疗保健系统的不同社区进行更多研究，以了解补充和替代医学如何影响女性的围绝经期症状。
