Evaluation of the effect of oral vitamin E and omega-3supplementation on the severity of hot flash in postmenopausal women

Background and Aim : hot flash is the most common complication of menopause.These symptoms lastfor1to2years and even for10years or more after menopause in most of women,causing disruption inperforming daily activity,emotional instability,and sleep disturbances.The prevalence of these symptomshas been reported over45years in various studies(1). Menopause is one of the natural stages in life of everywoman.This stage is associated with a loss of fertility power,vasomotor instability,psychologicalsymptoms,anxiety and depression(2).The vasomotor disorders are caused due to estrogendeficiency,followed by disorders in pathway of neurotransmitters such as noradrenergic and serotonergicand it leaves direct effects on the hypothalamic heat regulation center,leading to hot flashes or nightsweats(3). There are conflicting studies on the effect of oral supplementation of vitamin E and omega-3onthe intensity of hot flashes,indicating the antioxidant effect of omega-3and vitamin E in reducing thenumber and severity of menopausal hot flashes(4,5).Therefore,given the research priority of healthpromotion,postmenopausal care and spending one third of postmenopausal life and the many complicationsof this period,this research was carried out to evaluate the effect of oral vitamin E and omega-3supplementation on the severity of hot flash in postmenopausal women.Methods : This quasi-experimental and interventional study was conducted on postmenopausal women in2019.The research subjects were selected by convenient random sampling.A written consent will be takenfrom all subjects to participate in the study and they will be trained on the way of using and receivingOmega3supplementation and Vitamin E. Inclusion criteria were having mild, moderate,and severe hotflashes at least for4times in past24hours,spending a minimum of six months and a maximum of3years ofmenstruation cessation in the age range of55-45years.Exclusion criteria also included people with specificdiseases,abnormal menopause caused by radiation therapy and ovaries removal,having a specific diet andthe use of opioids during treatment.The samples were divided into intervention and control groups.Theintervention group received an850mg antioxidant supplementation capsule containing omega-3and vitaminE for2months.The number and severity of hot flashes and possible complications are recorded weekly andthe data are analyzed using SPSS software.Results : The mean number of hot flashes in the study group decreased from6.63±1.33to4.01±1.23and theintensity of hot flashes decreased from3.65±0.54to2.91±0.4per day (P<0.05).At the end of the12th week oftreatment, the mean recovery rate of hot flashes was41.9%and the mean recovery rate of hot flasheswas17.03%(P<0.05).The two groups had significant differences in the number and severity of hot flashes.Conclusion : Supplementation with antioxidants can be used as complementary medicine to reduce thenumber and severity of menopausal complications such as hot flashes.

کلیدواژه ها:

Menopause ، hot flash ، oral supplementation ، omega3 ، vitamin