Acupuncture ameliorated vasomotor symptoms during menopausal transition: single-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial to test treatment efficacy
José Maria Soares, Alexandre C. Branco-de-Luca, Ângela Maggio da Fonseca, Ceci M. Carvalho-Lopes, Eduardo Carvalho de Arruda Veiga, Cristiane Lima Roa, Vicente Renato Bagnoli, Edmund Chada Baracat
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of acupuncture on women with vasomotor symptoms during the menopausal transition with the aid of the Kupperman-Blatt Menopausal Index. METHOD: Crossover, single-blind, sham-controlled trial with 100 women randomly divided into two groups of 50 participants each: G1 and G2. During the first 24 weeks of treatment, the G1 women received acupuncture and the G2 women were given sham acupuncture. The crossover was then applied: the G1 participants were given sham acupuncture, and the G2 participants received acupuncture for 24 more weeks. RESULTS: The mean score of hot flashes of the group who first experienced acupuncture (G1) was statistically higher than that of the group that started with sham acupuncture (G2, P = 0.020). Also, both groups had similar mean scores in the middle of the study (both were receiving acupuncture). During the last 6 months of the study, after crossover, the values of G2 (acupuncture) were lower than those of G1 (sham acupuncture). CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture treatment may mitigate hot flashes and other climacteric symptoms during the menopausal transition.