There is no evidence of effectiveness in the alleviation of  menopausal symptoms with the use of phytoestrogen treatments
BACKGROUND Vasomotor symptoms , such as hot flushes and night sweats , are very common during the menopausal transition .
Hormone replacement therapy has traditionally been used as a very effective treatment but concerns over increased risks of some chronic diseases have markedly increased the interest of women in alternatives .
Some of the most popular of these are treatments based on foods or supplements enriched with phytoestrogens , plant-derived chemicals that have oestrogenic action .
OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy , safety and acceptability of foods and supplements based on high levels of phytoestrogens for reducing hot flushes and night sweats in postmenopausal women .
Vasomotor symptoms among Japanese-American and European-American women living in Hilo, Hawaii
Objective : The Hilo Women 's Health Survey  was design ed and administered to gather baseline data on women 's health in Hilo , HI . This r and omized , cross-sectional study allowed for a focus on ethnic differences in symptom reporting . The results presented here focus on hot flash and night sweat experience among Japanese-American and European-American women . Design : Survey packets were mailed to street addresses associated with parcel numbers pulled r and omly from Hilo tax maps . Of the 6,401 survey packets delivered to households , 1,824 question naires were completed and returned . The results reported here are based on 869 women aged 40 to 60 , of whom 249 described themselves to be 100 % Japanese and 203 described themselves to be 100 % European-American . Logistic regression analyses were used to examine whether the relationship between ethnicity and vasomotor symptoms persisted after controlling for other variables . Results : European-American participants were more likely to have ever experienced a hot flash as compared with Japanese-American participants ( 72 % vs 53 % , P < 0.01 ) . During the 2 weeks before the survey , European-American participants were more likely to have experienced hot flashes ( P < 0.05 ) and night sweats ( P < 0.01 ) . In logistic regression analyses , after controlling for age , body mass index , menopause status , level of education , financial comfort , smoking habits , alcohol intake , exercise , use of hormone therapy , and soy intake , European-American women were still significantly more likely to have experienced hot flashes ( odds ratio = 1.858 ) and night sweats ( odds ratio = 2.672 ) . Conclusions : The results , based on self-reporting of menopausal symptoms , indicate that Japanese-American women report fewer hot flashes and night sweats than European-American women . Japanese-American women reported a higher intake of soy , but soy intake was not associated with fewer vasomotor symptoms
There is no evidence of effectiveness in the alleviation of  menopausal symptoms with the use of phytoestrogen treatments
BACKGROUND Vasomotor symptoms , such as hot flushes and night sweats , are very common during the menopausal transition .
Hormone replacement therapy has traditionally been used as a very effective treatment but concerns over increased risks of some chronic diseases have markedly increased the interest of women in alternatives .
Some of the most popular of these are treatments based on foods or supplements enriched with phytoestrogens , plant-derived chemicals that have oestrogenic action .
OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy , safety and acceptability of foods and supplements based on high levels of phytoestrogens for reducing hot flushes and night sweats in postmenopausal women .