30 May 2022
Summary
Recently a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted at West China School of Medical, Sichuan University, China, aimed at investigating whether menopausal hormone therapy can improve sleep quality [1]. The authors included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from multiple databases, abstracts, and other full-text sources. Fifteen studies were included (n=27,715). The meta-analysis showed that hormone therapy improved self-reported sleep quality, but did not improve polysomnograms (PSG), compared with the control group. Estrogen/progestogen combined therapy improved sleep, but estrogen-only therapy did not. Among estrogen regimens, 17β estradiol and conjugated equine estrogens improved sleep quality, especially the former, but estradiol valerate did not. Transdermal estrogen improved sleep better than oral administration. Comparing different progestogen types, micronized progesterone and medroxyprogesterone acetate showed improvement effects on sleep. The authors concluded that hormone therapy has a beneficial effect on sleep disturbance to some extent, and the formulations and routes of administration of hormonal agents influence the effect size.
