Subgroup analysesSubgroup analyses by dose of BHT suggested that higher doses of BHT may be associated with more effectiveness but also higher risk of adverse effects .
There was low to moderate quality evidence that BHT in various forms and doses is more effective than placebo for treating moderate to severe menopausal hot flushes .
There was some evidence to suggest that higher doses of BHT are associated with greater effectiveness but also with higher risk of adverse effects .
No data are yet available about the safety of BHT with regard to long-term outcomes such as heart attack , stroke and breast cancer .
BACKGROUND Various hormone therapies ( HT ) are available to treat  menopausal vasomotor symptoms .
Bioidentical hormones are chemically identical to those produced by the human body , and several types are well-tested and available on prescription .
Many women have opted for bioidentical hormone therapy ( BHT ) on the assumption that it is safer than other forms of HT .
We evaluated the evidence .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effectiveness and safety of bioidentical hormones compared to placebo or non-bioidentical hormones for the relief of vasomotor symptoms .
A menopause-specific quality of life questionnaire: development and psychometric properties.
OBJECTIVE To develop a condition-specific quality of life question naire for the menopause with documented psychometric properties , based on women 's experience . METHODS SUBJECTS Women 2 - 7 years post-menopause with a uterus and not currently on hormone replacement therapy . Question naire development : A list of 106 menopause symptoms was reduced using the importance score method . Replies to the item-reduction question naire from 88 women result ed in a 30-item question naire with four domains , vasomotor , physical , psychosocial and sexual , and a global quality of life question . Psychometric properties : A separate sample of 20 women was used to determine face validity , and a panel of experts was used to confirm content validity . Reliability , responsiveness and construct validity were determined within the context of a r and omized controlled trial . Construct validation involved comparison with the Neugarten and Kraines'Somatic , Psychosomatic and Psychologic subscales , the reported intensity of hot flushes , the General Well-Being Schedule , Channon and Ballinger 's Vaginal Symptoms Score and Libido Index , and the Life Satisfaction Index . RESULTS The face validity score was 4.7 out of a possible 5 . Content validity was confirmed . Test-retest reliability measures , using intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.81 , 0.79 , 0.70 and 0.55 for the physical , psychosocial , sexual domains and the quality of life question . The intraclass correlation coefficient for the vasomotor domain was 0.37 but there is evidence of systematic change . Discriminative construct validity showed correlation coefficients of 0.69 for the physical domain , 0.66 and 0.40 for the vasomotor domain , 0.65 and -0.71 for the psychosocial domain , 0.48 and 0.38 for the sexual domain , and 0.57 for the quality of life question . Evaluative construct validity showed correlation coefficients of 0.60 for the physical domain , 0.28 for the vasomotor domain , 0.55 and -0.54 for the psychosocial domain , 0.54 and 0.32 for the sexual domain , and 0.12 for the quality of life question . Responsiveness scores ranged from 0.78 to 1.34 . CONCLUSIONS The MENQOL ( Menopause-Specific Quality of Life ) question naire is a self-administered instrument which functions well in differentiating between women according to their quality of life and in measuring changes in their quality of life
Subgroup analysesSubgroup analyses by dose of BHT suggested that higher doses of BHT may be associated with more effectiveness but also higher risk of adverse effects .
There was low to moderate quality evidence that BHT in various forms and doses is more effective than placebo for treating moderate to severe menopausal hot flushes .
There was some evidence to suggest that higher doses of BHT are associated with greater effectiveness but also with higher risk of adverse effects .
No data are yet available about the safety of BHT with regard to long-term outcomes such as heart attack , stroke and breast cancer .
BACKGROUND Various hormone therapies ( HT ) are available to treat  menopausal vasomotor symptoms .
Bioidentical hormones are chemically identical to those produced by the human body , and several types are well-tested and available on prescription .
Many women have opted for bioidentical hormone therapy ( BHT ) on the assumption that it is safer than other forms of HT .
We evaluated the evidence .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effectiveness and safety of bioidentical hormones compared to placebo or non-bioidentical hormones for the relief of vasomotor symptoms .