Abstract

COMPARISON OF EFFECT OF RED CLOVER & CONJUGATED ESTROGEN ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS AND THEIR IMPACT ON QUALITY OF LIFE IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN

Kaushal J,Sangwan P, Nehra J*, Chauhan MB, Singhal SR

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate and compare the effect of conjugated estrogen and red clover on menopausal symptoms and their impact on quality of life in postmenopausal women. Methods: A prospective, open labeled, randomized, comparative, clinical study was conducted on 50 patients. The patients were randomly divided in two groups of 25 each to receive either of the following two treatments: group A: Tablet Red Clover 80 mg once in a day orally daily and group B: Conjugated Estrogen 0.625mg once daily orally for 12 weeks. Clinical assessment was carried out in all the patients over a period of 12 weeks. End points of efficacy were Menopausal rating scale (MRS) for assessment of menopausal symptoms and their impact on Quality of life & Vaginal pH and maturation index to assess the effect of drugs on vaginal health. Results: In both the groups, there was statistically significant improvement in menopausal symptoms over a period of 12 weeks. There was more decrease in MRS with conjugated estrogen group as compared to red clover group but the difference was not statistically significant. The reduction in vaginal pH and improvement in vaginal maturation index were also more with conjugated estrogen but the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Both the treatment i.e. red clover and conjugated estrogen were found to be efficacious in postmenopausal patients. On comparing the above mentioned treatment groups, the results of conjugated estrogen were comparable with red clover. Thus, red clover can also be used as an alternative to conjugated estrogen for the treatment of post menopausal symptoms.

Keywords: Postmenopause, Menopausal Rating Scale, Red Clover; Conjugated Estrogen, Vaginal maturation index