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 .
Impact of the women's health initiative trial results on hormone replacement therapy.
STUDY OBJECTIVE To describe the impact of the results of the Women 's Health Initiative ( WHI ) on hormone replacement therapy ( HRT )  discontinuation rates . DESIGN Retrospective chart review . SETTING University-based family medicine clinic . SUBJECTS Ninety-eight postmenopausal women ( aged 50 - 79 yrs ) with an intact uterus who were receiving HRT .  MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Two study periods were defined : pre-WHI ( July 9 , 2001-January 9 , 2002 ) and post-WHI ( July 9 , 2002-January 9 , 2003 ) . Patient demographics and HRT discontinuation or persistence data were collected . Seven women were eligible for only for pre-WHI , 13 only for post-WHI , and 78 were eligible for both groups based on HRT use during both time periods . Forty-two of the 78 women were r and omized to the pre-WHI group and 36 to the post-WHI group to yield equal groups of 49 each . No significant demographic differences existed between the groups . Time-to-event analysis revealed an increased probability of HRT discontinuation after WHI versus before WHI ( log-rank test , p<0.01 ) . A subset of 85 women taking HRT 1 year before WHI were followed for 18 months . Discontinuation rates were 8 % ( 7 of 85 patients ) during the 12 months before WHI and 38 % ( 30 of 78 ) during the 6 months after WHI , with 80 % ( 24 of 30 ) of these patients discontinuing within 3 months . CONCLUSION Increased HRT discontinuation was temporally associated with release of WHI data , which implies that highly publicized , negative outcomes data can quickly influence pharmacotherapy decisions
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 .