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Got It, Hide thisRahn DD, Carberry C, Sanses TV, et al. Vaginal estrogen for genitourinary syndrome of menopause: a systematic review. Obstet Gynecol. 2014;124:1147-56.
In postmenopausal women who have genitourinary syndrome of menopause, do vaginal estrogens reduce symptoms? Do they cause side effects?
Genitourinary syndrome of menopause is a group of signs and symptoms that can affect the genital system (vaginal dryness or burning, and pain during sexual intercourse) and the lower urinary tract (increased frequency of urination, urgency to urinate, and pain while urinating). About half of postmenopausal women experience genitourinary syndrome, which does not improve without treatment.
The researchers did a systematic review of studies that were published up to April 2013.
They found 44 studies.
Key features of the studies were:
The quality of evidence varied. Findings for comparisons and outcomes that are based on moderate-strength evidence are reported here. Evidence of poor, low, or very low-quality is not reported here.
Compared with placebo or no treatment, vaginal estrogen:
In women who have genitourinary syndrome of menopause, vaginal estrogens reduce symptoms and do not cause side effects.
Outcomes | Effects of vaginal estrogen |
Urinary tract infection | 4 studies found that frequency of urinary tract infections was decreased with estrogen |
Vaginal dryness, itching or burning, and painful intercourse | 9 studies found that dryness improved with estrogen (2 found it did not) 6 studies found that itching or burning improved with estrogen (5 found it did not) 9 studies found that painful intercourse improved with estrogen (1 found it did not) |
Urgency urinary incontinence | 3 studies found that urgency urinary incontinence improved with estrogen |
Side events | 13 trials reported no difference in adverse events between women treated with estrogen and women treated with placebo |
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