MsFLASH participants' priorities for alleviating menopausal symptoms

Area of Science:

• Menopause research
• Clinical trial methodology
• Symptom management

Background:

• Vasomotor symptoms (VMS) significantly impact women's quality of life during menopause.
• Understanding symptom priorities is crucial for effective intervention design.
• Previous research has focused on VMS, but a comprehensive understanding of symptom prioritization is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and describe self-reported menopausal symptom priorities among women in a VMS intervention trial.
• To investigate the association between symptom priorities, demographic factors, and other menopausal symptoms.
• To evaluate the utility of a card sort task for assessing symptom priorities.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was embedded within the MsFLASH 02 trial.
• Participants (n=354) completed baseline assessments including hot flush diaries, a card sort task for symptom prioritization, and standardized questionnaires.
• The trial employed a factorial design investigating yoga, exercise, omega-3 fatty acids, and placebo interventions.

Main Results:

• Vasomotor symptoms (VMS) were the most frequently prioritized symptom (n=322), followed by sleep (n=191), concentration (n=140), and fatigue (n=116).
• Prioritizing VMS was associated with greater VMS severity and never smoking.
• Prioritizing sleep was linked to higher education levels and poorer sleep quality.

Conclusions:

• In this cohort of women entering a VMS trial, VMS emerged as the primary symptom concern.
• The card sort task demonstrated potential as a valid and efficient tool for assessing symptom priorities in clinical and research settings.
• These findings highlight the importance of VMS as a treatment priority, even in the presence of other bothersome symptoms like sleep disturbances.