Walking, Yoga, may enhance quality of life during menopause
Physical activity may help ease symptoms and increase quality of life during menopause, according to a new study. 164 sedentary menopause women were randomly assigned to a walking program, a yoga program, or a control group that had no additional exercise for 4 months. The women who walked or took yoga classes reported improvements in mood& menopause-related quality of life compared to the non-exercise group. Walking was chosen because it is an aerobic activity, while yoga was chosen because it is not aerobic. The results showed that both walking & yoga were effective at enhancing quality of life. Whether menopausal symptoms improved or worsened appeared to be determined by increases or decreases in cardio-respiratory fitness. Women who experienced decreases in menopausal symptoms in the study also experienced improvements in all positive mental health & quality of life outcomes. Fitness improvements may directly or indirectly impact the symptoms of menopause, both mental & physical. Exercise benefits so many other body systems. It should be an integral part of these types of intervention. “The surprising aspect of this study is the fact that we found a significant association between changes in cardio-respiratory fitness & changes in menopausal symptoms,” said lead author, Steriani Elavsky of Penn State University, USA. “This is contrary to other studies. ”

Source: The Society of Behavioural Medicine March 22, 2007
 
 
Hormone therapy may be safer with patch than pill
 
Transdermal estrogen, delivered by a patch or gel, is not associated with an increased risk of blood clots in veins, according to French researchers.The blood clots, called venous thromboembolism (VTE) are only a risk when taking estrogen by mouth. Data from this multi-centre case-controlled study of VTE among postmenopausal women also suggest that micronised progesterone & pregnane derivatives ( MPA ) appear safe with respect to thrombotic risk. However, non-pregnane derivatives cause clots. The researchers looked at data on 271 women with first-ever VTE, and compared them to 610 women without VTE, the ESTHER study, involving women aged 45 to 70 years, conducted between 1999 & 2005 in France. Compared with women not taking estrogen replacement, those who used oral estrogens had a 4.2 times higher risk of VTE, while women using transdermal estrogen had 0.9 times the risk. The researchers found no significant association of VTE with micronised progesterone & pregnane derivatives. By contrast, non-pregnane derivatives were associated with a 4-fold increased VTE risk. “ If confirmed, ” said the authors, “ these findings could benefit women in the management of their menopausal symptoms.

Source: American Heart Association February 20, 2007