Reduce Menopausal Symptoms with Meditation

March 16, 2021 psyjdc Leave a comment

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

‘midlife women with higher mindfulness scores experienced fewer menopausal symptoms,” – Dr. Richa Sood

Menopause occurs in the 40s and 50s in most women, on average at 51 years of age. It is a natural physical process that marks the end of the menstrual cycle. The symptoms that occur over the years preceding menopause include irregular periods, vaginal dryness, hot flashes, chills

night sweats, sleep problems, mood changes, weight gain and slowed metabolism, thinning hair and dry skin, and loss of breast fullness. This is a natural process that is healthy and needs to occur. So, treatments are designed for symptomatic relief and include drugs and hormone treatments. Mindfulness training including meditation is a more natural treatment that has been shown to improve the symptoms of menopause.

In today’s Research News article “A potential association of meditation with menopausal symptoms and blood chemistry in healthy women: A pilot cross-sectional study.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7478772/ ) Sung and colleagues recruited healthy adult women, 25-60 years of age, who were either long-term meditators or non-meditators. The particular meditation practice was a combination of focused meditation and mindful movement practice. The groups were divided into premenopausal and postmenopausal women. They were measured for menopausal symptoms, including psychological, somatic, and urogenital domains, and blood was drawn and assayed for HDL, glucose, triglyceride, total protein, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase;

They found overall that the meditation group was lower than the non-meditators in menopausal symptoms especially depression and irritability. In the premenopausal women there was significantly higher HDL levels in the meditation group while in the postmenopausal group there were significantly higher HDL and glucose levels in the non-meditators.

This is a cross-sectional pilot study and causation cannot be definitively assigned. But these results replicates previous findings from controlled studies that mindfulness practices produce reduced menopausal symptoms, depression, and irritability. So, it is likely that the present findings are due to a causal connection between meditation practice and reduced menopausal symptoms.

So, reduce menopausal symptoms with meditation.

“Among the different natural remedies available for managing middle age, meditation for menopause has some unique benefits. It is a totally natural, completely free way to approach navigating the hormonal rollercoaster of midlife.” – Karen Shopoff Rooff

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Study Summary

Sung, M. K., Lee, U. S., Ha, N. H., Koh, E., & Yang, H. J. (2020). A potential association of meditation with menopausal symptoms and blood chemistry in healthy women: A pilot cross-sectional study. Medicine, 99(36), e22048. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000022048

Abstract

Owing to hormonal changes, women experience various psychophysiological alterations over a wide age range, which may result in decreased quality of life as well as in increased risks of diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases. Although studies have been performed to research complementary methods, such as meditation, the research field still requires an adequate amount of studies for public health guidelines. This pilot cross-sectional study aims to investigate a potential association of meditation with menopausal symptoms and blood chemistry for healthy women. In this study, data of 65 healthy women (age range 25–67) including 33 meditation practitioners and 32 meditation-naïve controls were analyzed to compare the Menopausal Rating Scale scores and blood chemistry with 7 more dropouts in the blood chemistry. For blood chemistry, nine components including glucose (GLU) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) were measured. Two-way analysis of variance was performed by dividing the total participants into 2 groups: premenopausal and postmenopausal participants. Compared to the control group, the meditation group showed a trend of reductions in the Menopausal Rating Scale total score (P = .054) and its 2 subcomponents: depressive mood (P = .064) and irritability (P = .061). In HDL level, there was a significant interaction between group and menopausal state (P = .039) with following post hoc results: among the premenopausal participants, a significant increase in the meditation group compared to the control group (P = .005); among the control group, a significant increase in the postmenopausal compared to the premenopausal participants (P = .030). In GLU level, there was a mild interaction between group and menopausal state (P = .070) with following post hoc results: among the postmenopausal participants, a trend of increase in the control group compared to the meditation group (P = .081); among the control group, a significant increase in the postmenopausal compared to the premenopausal participants (P = .040). Our research suggests a potential association of practicing meditation with alleviations in menopausal symptoms and changes in blood chemistry, warranting further studies with a longitudinal study design and larger populations to understand the underlying causal relationships.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7478772/

Reduce Menopausal Symptoms with Yoga

June 19, 2020 psyjdc Leave a comment

Reduce Menopausal Symptoms with Yoga

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“When I feel overwhelmed with hot flashes and out-of-control emotions, I head back to basics. In yoga it’s called ‘”beginner’s mind,” which is the concept of dropping what I think I know and surrendering to my body’s natural wisdom.” – Rachel Zinman

Mindfulness training may be a more natural treatment for the symptoms of menopause. Indeed, the mindful practice of yoga has been shown to improve the cardiac symptoms of menopause. There is accumulating evidence of the effectiveness of yoga practice for the treatment of the symptoms of menopause. So, it makes sense to step back and summarize what has been learned.

In today’s Research News article “Improving vasomotor symptoms; psychological symptoms; and health-related quality of life in peri- or post-menopausal women through yoga: An umbrella systematic review and meta-analysis.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6980280/), Shepherd-Banigan and colleagues review, summarize, and perform a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of yoga practice for the treatment of the symptoms of menopause.

They identified 8 randomized controlled trials. They report that the published research studies found that yoga practice significantly reduced the severity of hot flashes and psychological symptoms such as depression. No serious adverse events were reported.

The results correspond to previous findings that yoga practice significantly decreases depression symptoms and menopausal symptoms. Hence the published research suggests that yoga practice is safe and effective for peri-menopausal and menopausal women, reducing menopause physical and psychological symptoms.

So, reduce menopausal symptoms with yoga.

“There is no more creative force in the world than the menopausal woman with zest.” – Margaret Mead

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Study Summary

Shepherd-Banigan, M., Goldstein, K. M., Coeytaux, R. R., McDuffie, J. R., Goode, A. P., Kosinski, A. S., Van Noord, M. G., Befus, D., Adam, S., Masilamani, V., Nagi, A., & Williams, J. W., Jr (2017). Improving vasomotor symptoms; psychological symptoms; and health-related quality of life in peri- or post-menopausal women through yoga: An umbrella systematic review and meta-analysis. Complementary therapies in medicine, 34, 156–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2017.08.011

Objectives:

Vasomotor symptoms (VMS), commonly reported during menopausal transition, negatively affect psychological health and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). While hormone therapy is an effective treatment, its use is limited by concerns about possible harms. Thus, many women with VMS seek nonhormonal, nonpharmacologic treatment options. However, evidence to guide clinical recommendations is inconclusive. This study reviewed the effectiveness of yoga, tai chi and qigong on vasomotor, psychological symptoms, and HRQoL in peri- or post-menopausal women.

Design:

MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Allied and Complementary Medicine Database were searched. Researchers identified systematic reviews (SR) or RCTs that evaluated yoga, tai chi, or qigong for vasomotor, psychological symptoms, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in peri- or post-menopausal women. Data were abstracted on study design, participants, interventions and outcomes. Risk of bias (ROB) was assessed and updated meta-analyses were performed.

Results:

We identified one high-quality SR (5 RCTs, 582 participants) and 3 new RCTs (345 participants) published after the SR evaluating yoga for vasomotor, psychological symptoms, and HRQoL; no studies evaluated tai chi or qigong. Updated meta-analyses indicate that, compared to controls, yoga reduced VMS (5 trials, standardized mean difference (SMD) −0.27, 95% CI −0.49 to −0.05) and psychological symptoms (6 trials, SDM −0.32; 95% CI −0.47 to −0.17). Effects on quality of life were reported infrequently. Key limitations are that adverse effects were rarely reported and outcome measures lacked standardization.

Conclusions:

Results from this meta-analysis suggest that yoga may be a useful therapy to manage bothersome vasomotor and psychological symptoms.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6980280/

Improve Quality of Life in Women with Ovarian Removal with Mindfulness

August 29, 2019September 24, 2019 psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve Quality of Life in Women with Ovarian Removal with Mindfulness

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“midlife women with higher mindfulness scores experienced fewer menopausal symptoms. These findings suggest that mindfulness may be a promising tool to help women reduce menopausal symptoms and overall stress.” – Richa Sood

Women who carry genetic markers, BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, have a very high risk of developing ovarian cancer. Often as a preventative measure, women opt to have their ovaries and fallopian tubes surgically removed (salpingo-oophorectomy). A consequence of this procedure is to produce the onset of menopausal symptoms. These include hot flashes, (n + Add New Category ight) sweats, vaginal dryness, loss of sexual desire, and pain during intercourse. Hormone treatments may reduce the symptom intensity but do not eliminate them.

Hence, there is a need to find alternative treatment to help relieve these troubling symptoms following ovary removal. Mindfulness training has been shown to help reduce the symptoms of natural meonpause. But it is not known whether mindfulness training might also help alleviate these symptoms in women after surgical removal of the ovaries.

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness-based stress reduction for menopausal symptoms after risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (PURSUE study): a randomised controlled trial.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6587763/), van Driel and colleagues recruited women who carried the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation and had undergone surgical removal of their ovaries and fallopian tubes before the age of 52 years. They continued care as usual and were randomly assigned to receive an 8-week program of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) or no additional treatment. The MBSR program met for 2.5 hours once a week along with 30-45 minutes of daily home practice and consisted of discussion, meditation, yoga, and body scan practices. The women were measured before and after MBSR and 3 and 9 months later for menopausal-specific quality of life, sexual function, and sexual distress.

They found that in comparison to baseline and the usual care control group, the group that received MBSR training had significantly improved menopausal-specific quality of life, including improved vasomotor (i.e. burden caused by hot flushes, night sweats, and sweating in general) and physical symptoms (e.g. burden caused by stamina reduction, aches, and urination frequency) quality of life. These improvements were found immediately after MBSR training and 9 months later. No significant improvements were found for sexual function or distress.

In women

The study results suggest that MBSR training is a safe and effective treatment to produce long-term improvements in the menopausal quality of life in women who carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation and had undergone surgical removal of their ovaries and fallopian tubes. MBSR consists of a package of practices. It will remain for future research to determine which of these practices or which combination of practices are necessary and sufficient to produce the benefits.

So, improve quality of life in women with ovarian removal with mindfulness.

“Mindfulness cannot entirely remove the symptoms of menopause, but it can help you deal with them in a calmer and more compassionate way – and self compassion boosts mental health. Learning these simple techniques to focus our awareness, relax the body, and ride out the storm, (whether the storm is physical or emotional) can pay great dividends’” – Karita Cullen

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Study Summary

van Driel, C., de Bock, G. H., Schroevers, M. J., & Mourits, M. J. (2019). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for menopausal symptoms after risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (PURSUE study): a randomised controlled trial. BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology, 126(3), 402–411. doi:10.1111/1471-0528.15471

Abstract

Objective

To assess the short‐ and long‐term effects of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) on the resulting quality of life, sexual functioning, and sexual distress after risk‐reducing salpingo‐oophorectomy (RRSO).

Design

Randomised controlled trial.

Setting

A specialised family cancer clinic of the university medical center Groningen.

Population

Sixty‐six women carriers of the BRCA1/2 mutation who developed at least two moderate‐to‐severe menopausal symptoms after RRSO.

Methods

Women were randomised to an 8‐week MBSR training programme or to care as usual (CAU).

Main outcome measures

Change in the Menopause‐Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL), the Female Sexual Function Index, and the Female Sexual Distress Scale, administered from baseline at 3, 6, and 12 months. Linear mixed modelling was applied to compare the effect of MBSR with CAU over time.

Results

At 3 and 12 months, there were statistically significant improvements in the MENQOL for the MBSR group compared with the CAU group (both P = 0.04). At 3 months, the mean MENQOL scores were 3.5 (95% confidence interval, 95% CI 3.0–3.9) and 3.8 (95% CI 3.3–4.2) for the MBSR and CAU groups, respectively; at 12 months, the corresponding values were 3.6 (95% CI 3.1–4.0) and 3.9 (95% CI 3.5–4.4). No significant differences were found between the MBSR and CAU groups in the other scores.

Conclusion

Mindfulness‐based stress reduction was effective at improving quality of life in the short‐ and long‐term for patients with menopausal symptoms after RRSO; however, it was not associated with an improvement in sexual functioning or distress.

Tweetable abstract

Mindfulness improves menopause‐related quality of life in women after risk‐reducing salpingo‐oophorectomy.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6587763/

Reduce Menopausal Symptoms, Anxiety, and Depression during Menopause with Mindfulness

June 16, 2018 psyjdc Leave a comment

Reduce Menopausal Symptoms, Anxiety, and Depression during Menopause with Mindfulness

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“Mindfulness cannot entirely remove the symptoms of menopause, but it can help you deal with them in a calmer and more compassionate way – and self compassion boosts mental health.” – Karita Cullen

Mindfulness training may be a more natural treatment for the symptoms of menopause. Indeed, the mindful practice of yoga has been shown to improve the cardiac symptoms of menopause. It is important to study the effectiveness of other mindfulness practices in relieving these symptoms. In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) or Psychoeducation for the Reduction of Menopausal Symptoms: A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5919973/ ), Wong and colleagues examine the effectiveness for the treatment of menopausal symptoms of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, which includes meditation, yoga, and body scan practices.

They recruited women 40-60 years of age who were experiencing menopausal symptoms. They were randomly assigned to receive either Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training of once-a-week 2.5-hour sessions for 8 weeks or Menopausal education on a similar schedule. Both groups were encouraged to practice at home for 40 minutes daily. They were measured before and after training and 3 and 6 months later for menopausal symptoms, perceived stress, health related quality of life, and mindfulness.

They found that both groups had significant reductions in menopausal symptoms at all follow-up measurements including the 6-month follow-up, but the MBSR group had significantly greater improvement than the menopausal education group. In addition, the MBSR group had significantly greater reductions in anxiety and depression at the follow-up measurements. Hence, MBSR appears to produce greater improvements in menopausal symptoms than an active control condition.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a complex program including, meditation, yoga, and body scan practices. In the present study, it cannot be determined which of these components or combinations of components are effective and which are not. It has been previously shown, however, that yoga practice improves the cardiac symptoms of menopause. So, it would seem likely that at least the yoga component is effective. It remains for future research to determine whether meditation and body scan are necessary or sufficient to relieve the symptoms of menopause. Regardless, it is clear that the complex of practices of MBSR has beneficial effects for women undergoing menopause.

So, reduce menopausal symptoms, anxiety, and depression during menopause with mindfulness.

“The degree of bother reported from hot flashes and night sweats in the mindfulness group decreased over time, indicating time and persistence using mindfulness techniques may be key to obtaining beneficial results.” – Lena Suhaila

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Study Summary

Carmen Wong, Benjamin Hon-Kei Yip, Ting Gao, Kitty Yu Yuk Lam, Doris Mei Sum Woo, Annie Lai King Yip, Chloe Yu Chin, Winnie Pui Yin Tang, Mandy Mun Tse Choy, Katrina Wai Key Tsang, Suzanne C. Ho, Helen Shuk Wah Ma, Samuel Yeung Shan Wong. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) or Psychoeducation for the Reduction of Menopausal Symptoms: A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial. Sci Rep. 2018; 8: 6609. Published online 2018 Apr 26. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-24945-4

Abstract

Psychological and behavioural interventions may be effective in reducing menopause-related symptoms. This randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in reducing menopause-related symptoms by comparing with an active control group, the menopause education control (MEC). Symptomatic peri-menopausal and post-menopausal women with mild to moderate symptoms were recruited. The primary outcome was overall menopausal symptoms measured by modified Greene Climacteric Scale (GCS). Secondary outcomes include subscales of the GCS perceived stress, mindfulness and health related Quality of Life. All outcome measures were collected at baseline, 2 months (immediately post intervention), 5 and 8 months (3 and 6 months post intervention respectively). Both MBSR (n = 98) and MEC (n = 99) groups reported a reduction in total GCS score at 8 months. Between group analysis show significant symptom score reduction in MBSR group on Anxiety and Depression subscales of GCS. No differences were found between groups on other GCS subscales and majority of the secondary outcome measures. The findings show that menopausal symptoms in both MBSR and MEC significantly reduced over the study period. MBSR show a greater reduction of psychological symptoms of depression and anxiety above active controls but do not reduce other somatic, urogenital and vasomotor symptoms.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5919973/