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Effect of homeopathy on symptom severity and quality of life among menopausal women: A meta-analysis
Fatma Şule Bilgiç1, Aysu Yıldız Karaahmet2, Shahla Shafaati Laleh3
1Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Health Sciences, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Çanakkale, Türkiye.
Background:
Menopause is a major life transition frequently accompanied by vasomotor, psychological, and somatic symptoms that adversely affect women's quality of life (QoL). Due to concerns regarding the long-term safety of hormone therapy, many women seek complementary and alternative treatments. Homeopathy has gained attention as a potential nonhormonal option for managing menopausal symptoms; however, evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) remains limited and inconsistent.
Objectives:
To systematically review RCTs evaluating the effects of homeopathic interventions on menopausal symptom severity and QoL in menopausal women and to quantitatively synthesize the available evidence through meta-analysis.
Search Strategy:
A comprehensive literature search was conducted in the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase from inception to February 15, 2025, without time restrictions. Relevant reference lists were also manually screened. Searches were limited to studies published in English or Turkish.
Selection Criteria:
RCTs involving menopausal women aged 40-55 years that compared any homeopathic intervention with placebo or no intervention were eligible. Primary outcomes included menopausal symptom severity, while secondary outcomes were QoL and hot flashes.
Data Collection And Analysis:
Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed risk of bias using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0 tool. Meta-analyses were performed using random-effects models. Continuous outcomes were pooled as standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Statistical heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 statistic.
Main Results:
Six RCTs involving 557 menopausal women were included. Homeopathic interventions were associated with a significant reduction in overall menopausal symptom severity (SMD = -0.31 [95% CI, -0.67 to 0.05]; P = 0.02) and hot flashes (SMD = -0.20 [95% CI, -0.50 to 0.09]; P = 0.03). No statistically significant improvement was observed in overall QoL (SMD = -0.09 [95% CI, -0.23 to 0.05]; P = 0.19). No serious adverse effects related to homeopathic treatments were reported.
Conclusions:
Homeopathic interventions may reduce menopausal symptoms, particularly hot flashes, in menopausal women. However, evidence for improvements in QoL remains insufficient, and the observed effects should be interpreted cautiously because of methodological limitations, substantial heterogeneity, and the possibility of placebo-related effects. While homeopathy may be considered as a complementary nonhormonal option, further high-quality, large-scale RCTs are required to confirm its effectiveness and clinical relevance.
