Mature women's motivation for using and perception of the risks and benefits of natural health products (NHPs)
Date
2012-11-23
Authors
Torbiak, Lindsay
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Abstract
Natural health products (NHPs) are gaining in popularity, becoming widely used by perimenopausal and postmenopausal women without professional guidance. Although roughly '71% of Canadians use some form of NHP', physicians are often unaware of their patients' supplement use. The safety and efficacy of self-prescribed herbal products are not well understood and individuals may be unaware of potential risks associated with them. This study investigated perimenopausal and postmenopausal women's motivating factors to use or refrain from using NHPs for the improvement of their menopausal symptoms or overall well being. This study indicates specific educational points about NHPs that physicians should be sharing with patients, specificaly menopausal women. First, there are safe NHP treatments for vasomotor symptoms, for example black cohosh and red clover. These treatments have not been shown to have serious adverse safety effects when taken for 12 months and when taken properly (correct dose and in patients with no contraindications). However, these non-hormonal treatments are less efficacious than estrogen therapy and have not been shown to be more effective than placebo. Physicians should also ensure that it is clear to patients that the long term side effects of these products have not been well studied.
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Medicine