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Author Topic: World Menopause day 2015 and NICE  (Read 28540 times)

Emma

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World Menopause day 2015 and NICE
« on: October 19, 2015, 08:01:45 AM »

World Menopause day 2015 and NICE

Exciting times! First ever NICE (The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guideline on Diagnosis and Management of Menopause is due for publication mid-November 2015. This is a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of the menopause, and to provide women and healthcare professionals with appropriate information and support.

Get involved by following us on twitter @menomatters

Celebrate World Menopause Day on Sunday 18th October 2015 - we are all important and our menopause is an important part of the rich tapestry of our lives! Manage your menopause in whatever way suits you, but don't suffer in silence.
We are here to help.

Regards,
The Menopause Matters Forum Team.
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Emma

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Re: World Menopause day 2015 and NICE
« Reply #1 on: October 19, 2015, 08:15:51 AM »

An American study out today (19 Oct 2015) confirms the safety of HRT, with beneficial effects being shown in women who continued taking HRT for many years.
Menopause Matters news item:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/newsitem.php?recordID=164/Safety-of-HRT

The Telegraph: Ignore health scares, HRT is safe, say scientists:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11938763/Ignore-health-scares-HRT-is-safe-say-scientists.html
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Emma

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Re: World Menopause day 2015 and NICE
« Reply #2 on: October 19, 2015, 08:24:51 AM »

« Last Edit: October 19, 2015, 08:27:23 AM by Emma »
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Dancinggirl

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Re: World Menopause day 2015 and NICE
« Reply #3 on: October 19, 2015, 09:40:59 AM »

I am thrilled to hear we are finally getting some positive findings from studies.  Sadly so many women are either denied HRT due to perceived risks, taken off HRT after 5 years and following all the scares many women are too frightened to use HRT. If you actually read the leaflets for many over the counter medicines (and many of us don't) it is enough to frighten most people. With more women demanding to use HRT for longer periods due to the benefits, I'm sure more positive evidence will emerge - I believe such studies are ongoing. There has always been too much emphasis on the risks and dangers of HRT and not enough about the benefits - all drugs have risks, smoking and too much alcohol is more risky, life is risky but 'quality of life' is very important.
Of course not all will need or even want to use HRT and some side effects can be bothersome but at 59 I am still using HRT and now hope I can continue for many years to come.  Having tried to be without HRT I can honestly say HRT does improve my quality of life in so many ways, enabling me to continue to work and enjoy life to the full. I really urge all those women who struggle with meno symptoms to seek help - with these new studies showing such benefits we will hopefully see a real change in the way the menopause is viewed and more women empowered to find the right way forward for them and not suffer in silence.   
Really looking forward to seeing the new NICE recommendations - hope they pave the way for a positive future.
DG x
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Hurdity

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Re: World Menopause day 2015 and NICE
« Reply #4 on: October 19, 2015, 11:52:45 AM »

Thanks Emma for posting all of this - we are all looking forward to seeing the NICE guidelines published and the much needed recommendations to GPs.

Great post Dancinggirl - I agree with everything you say.

Prajna - what's not scientific? It is a study providing evidence. It is important to publish all such studies which contribute to the body of data that exists.

If you look at the Menopause Matters News section (the first of Emma's links) it says this: "The study followed up women who took HRT and compared various outcomes with those in women not taking HRT. While the number of women was small in both groups, this study adds further to studies over recent years that have shown that, when used appropriately, HRT provides more benefits than risks."

Dr Currie herself said this (4th link - Scottish Daily Mail):
[Dr Currie] “ has welcomed the new research, despite noting that it was based on a small sample. This adds to the strength of evidence that HRT is not harmful, while it can also be good for your heart and for your bones. I want women like me to make their decision [to take HRT] based on the evidence, and not exaggerated risks.”

I think that speaks for itself.

I hope everyone who is worried is a bit more reassured by this new research  :)

Hurdity x
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CLKD

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Re: World Menopause day 2015 and NICE
« Reply #5 on: October 19, 2015, 11:58:57 AM »

Can we now assume that GPs will be bothered to read these Articles?  Can we assume that GPs will believe and therefore support ladies requiring quality of Life and won't fob them off …….. due to costs to the Practice Budgets?  Time will tell.  When women present in Surgery with possible meno symptoms they need to take someone to validate, a person who won't be overwhelmed with tears  ;) and who can push for treatment where required.
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Hurdity

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Re: World Menopause day 2015 and NICE
« Reply #6 on: October 19, 2015, 12:51:36 PM »

A quantitative study of this size is next to useless I'm afraid.

I would dearly like to see the actual report, and not just newspaper articles which are neither here nor there.

Hurdity,  If the report had proved the opposite, would you still be saying the same??

Eh? What a strange thing to say – this isn't about me – it's a comment on some new evidence. I agree that newspaper articles can be inaccurate and I would always prefer to see the original article or at least the press release from the institution that accompanies it which distills the essence of the study.

But in the absence of that Prajna – if the Chair of the British Menopause Society (in this case Dr Currie) reports the information (which is what I quoted) – I am happy to trust their (her) expert view on the evidence.

No-one said that a study of this size in isolation is sufficient to draw those conclusions – you will see that the Menopause Matters news item and what Dr Currie said for the Scottish Daily Mail, talks about this adding to the body of evidence – that's the crucial point.

CLKD – at least these guidelines will be widely reported in the media so that GPs will have no excuse not to be aware of them, even if they don't have time to read them. It will take some time for them all to become up to speed and indeed to remove their own prejudices, but let's be optimistic about this – it's a big step in the right direction which will alleviate suffering hopefully for thousands of women.

Hurdity x
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dahliagirl

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Re: World Menopause day 2015 and NICE
« Reply #7 on: October 19, 2015, 12:57:13 PM »

The paper is being presented to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference later this week, so maybe we will have more of the nitty gritty  information available after that.
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CLKD

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Re: World Menopause day 2015 and NICE
« Reply #8 on: October 19, 2015, 01:45:45 PM »

The information is a general Press release I believe, not something that the Press are trying to 'push' ……. I haven't read them all but I wonder if they are all the 'same'!
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Hurdity

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Re: World Menopause day 2015 and NICE
« Reply #9 on: October 19, 2015, 03:58:55 PM »

Well Prajna – you asked an open question “How scientific is this” after your statement “Not really a very big study”.  I responded with another question “What is not scientific?” and explained this with quotes from the news articles and more importantly the news report on this site which isn't a press report – it is Menopause Matters' summary of the info and will have been endorsed by Dr Currie, where the fact that it is a small study ( which was your criticism of it) was recognised, and that it added to evidence from recent  existing studies which came to the same conclusion.

You subsequent question to me was not about the data or the scientific paper or the news report – it was about what I would have said – and what I said was not my interpretation – I was quoting the information given in the press reports and on this site.  I was just elucidating (or so I thought) from the information available and quoting from the links given by Emma – for anyone who didn't have time to read them as well as echoing Dr Currie's views.

The article in the Telegraph states at the bottom “ The new research was published at the ASRM annual meeting in Baltimore”. I googled this meeting before making my first post but couldn't find direct reference to it ie the actual research study so maybe this is a press release in advance of the presentation of the paper later in the week – dahliagirl?

Even in the absence of full information at this point – we are not being told (on here) what to think by newspapers - I think that was the point of Emma providing the links as well as Dr Currie's interpretation of the information – where – and I have to say this again – the small sample size was acknowledged and that the study added to the body of data which has come to a similar conclusion.

Incidentally while googling again I found the Guardian report – as always giving more details:
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/oct/19/hrt-to-treat-menopause-is-safe-study

They report that:
The total sample size was 80 treated (with HRT) + 56 controls (no HRT) = 136
The women were followed for up to 25 years (presumably some of them)
Women on HRT were analysed for up to 14 years.
Full body scans were carried out on the women in the study every year for 10 years.

Of course it is not possible to conclude from this one study that HRT is absolutely safe – but it provides additional evidence which supports the view that the risks have been overstated.

Hurdity x
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CLKD

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Re: World Menopause day 2015 and NICE
« Reply #10 on: October 19, 2015, 04:23:28 PM »

So it is for most treatments whatever they are suggested for. Informed choices should be at the forefront of discussion with patients.

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dahliagirl

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Re: World Menopause day 2015 and NICE
« Reply #11 on: October 19, 2015, 04:37:29 PM »

I think it is advance publicity for this on Wednesday: (and is also advance publicity for the NICE guideline publication in November)  This is the only relevant thing on the programme I can find.

http://www.asrmannualmeeting.org/full-schedule.php

David and Rosemary Adamson Lecture on Excellence in Reproductive Medicine: Prevention of Diseases in Postmenopausal Women—Is There a Role for Hormone Therapy?
Roger A. Lobo, M.D.
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

But that is only guess work - the speaker is not the lead author mentioned in the newspapers.  We will have to wait and see.
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Emma

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Re: World Menopause day 2015 and NICE
« Reply #12 on: November 12, 2015, 11:04:53 AM »

Guidelines are out. Check the info on our homepage.

Emma
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Hurdity

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Re: World Menopause day 2015 and NICE
« Reply #13 on: November 12, 2015, 11:50:21 AM »

 :thankyou:

Do hope this marks a turning point for menopausal women  :)

Hurdity
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Emma

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Re: World Menopause day 2015 and NICE
« Reply #14 on: November 12, 2015, 03:12:36 PM »

« Last Edit: November 12, 2015, 03:59:43 PM by Emma »
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