Applied Relaxation for Vasomotor Symptoms

NCT ID: NCT01488864

Last Updated: 2012-05-11

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

TERMINATED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

60 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2007-03-31

Study Completion Date

2010-09-30

Brief Summary

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The objectives of this study are to compare frequency and severity of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women treated with applied relaxation (AR) with an untreated control-group (CG) and to investigate if Health Related Quality of Life improve in the AR-group compared to an untreated CG.To study if salivary cortisol excretion would change within the AR treated group compared with the control group.

Detailed Description

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Approximately 70% of women in Europe and North America experience hot flashes and night sweats during the climacteric period. Many women abstain from hormonal therapy because of side effects or contraindications such as breast cancer or thrombosis.

Different alternative therapies for alleviation of hot flashes are described in the literature. Both pharmacological treatments, different types of natural remedies, acupuncture, life-style changes and mind-body therapies are suggested as promising therapies. Applied relaxation (AR) is a technique influenced on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) using coping mechanism and conditioning. Previous study with healthy postmenopausal women showed promising results on hot flash frequency with an average decrease of more than 70 % with persisting effect three months after therapy and also HRQoL significantly increased probably due to better sleep and diminished vasomotor symptoms. But the method must be further investigated before strong evidence-based conclusion can be drawn.

Cortisol is a potent stress hormone regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. The factors underlying how alternative treatment works and the mechanism underlying improvements in symptoms are not fully understood.

Conditions

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Menopause Hot Flashes

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Applied Relaxation (AR)

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Applied Relaxation (AR)

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

AR is a technique influenced on cognitive behavioral therapy using coping mechanism and conditioning. AR focuses on muscle relaxation, where breathing is used for the conditioning of the relaxation. AR implies participation in 10 group sessions during a period of 12 weeks. A therapist will see the women assigned to AR in a group consisted of 6-8 women. The weekly sessions will last for 60 minutes each and are based on a scheme from Öst. The women will be told to practice each component daily.

During the first session a lecture about menopause and about theories of the mechanisms behind hot flashes will be given.

The aim of applying AR in view of coping with vasomotor symptoms will be discussed. The group is given a rationale of applying AR as a coping technique for handling sudden unanticipated symptoms by quick calming down, and thus gaining control over the situation.

Untreated Control Group (CG)

The women assigned to CG will be told to act as an untreated control group i.e. not to use hormonal treatment, other alternative medication, natural remedies for hot flashes and even not acupuncture, mind-body therapies or intensive physical activity.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Applied Relaxation (AR)

AR is a technique influenced on cognitive behavioral therapy using coping mechanism and conditioning. AR focuses on muscle relaxation, where breathing is used for the conditioning of the relaxation. AR implies participation in 10 group sessions during a period of 12 weeks. A therapist will see the women assigned to AR in a group consisted of 6-8 women. The weekly sessions will last for 60 minutes each and are based on a scheme from Öst. The women will be told to practice each component daily.

During the first session a lecture about menopause and about theories of the mechanisms behind hot flashes will be given.

The aim of applying AR in view of coping with vasomotor symptoms will be discussed. The group is given a rationale of applying AR as a coping technique for handling sudden unanticipated symptoms by quick calming down, and thus gaining control over the situation.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* postmenopausal women (at least 12 months since last menstrual bleeding occurred or in previously hysterectomised women a serum follicle-stimulating hormone (S-FSH) defined as postmenopausal level according to references at the local laboratory)
* More or equal to 7 moderate to severe hot flashes or more or equal at 50 hot flashes per week according to a two-week screening diary
* ability to understand and speak Swedish
* freely given informed consent

Exclusion Criteria

* unstable thyroid or other metabolic disease
* treatment with hormone therapy (HT) or other complementary- or alternative treatments treatment for menopausal-related symptoms
* treatment with psychopharmacological drugs and/or sedatives d-un-treated psychiatric disease
* frequently exercising women (≥ 2h high-intensity activities/week)
Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Elizabeth Nedstrand

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Elizabeth Nedstrand

Md, PhD

Responsibility Role SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Elizabeth Nedstrand, Md, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Ostergotland CC, University Hospital Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 582 85 Linköping, Sweden

Locations

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University Hospital, Dept of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Linköping, , Sweden

Site Status

Countries

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Sweden

References

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Nedstrand E, Wijma K, Lindgren M, Hammar M. The relationship between stress-coping and vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women. Maturitas. 1998 Nov 30;31(1):29-34. doi: 10.1016/s0378-5122(98)00058-9.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 10091202 (View on PubMed)

Nedstrand E, Wijma K, Wyon Y, Hammar M. Applied relaxation and oral estradiol treatment of vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women. Maturitas. 2005 Jun 16;51(2):154-62. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2004.05.017.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15917156 (View on PubMed)

Nedstrand E, Wijma K, Wyon Y, Hammar M. Vasomotor symptoms decrease in women with breast cancer randomized to treatment with applied relaxation or electro-acupuncture: a preliminary study. Climacteric. 2005 Sep;8(3):243-50. doi: 10.1080/13697130500118050.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16390756 (View on PubMed)

Ost LG. Applied relaxation: description of a coping technique and review of controlled studies. Behav Res Ther. 1987;25(5):397-409. doi: 10.1016/0005-7967(87)90017-9. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 3318800 (View on PubMed)

Hunter MS, Mann E. A cognitive model of menopausal hot flushes and night sweats. J Psychosom Res. 2010 Nov;69(5):491-501. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2010.04.005. Epub 2010 Jun 1.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20955869 (View on PubMed)

Hunter MS, Coventry S, Hamed H, Fentiman I, Grunfeld EA. Evaluation of a group cognitive behavioural intervention for women suffering from menopausal symptoms following breast cancer treatment. Psychooncology. 2009 May;18(5):560-3. doi: 10.1002/pon.1414.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 18646246 (View on PubMed)

Innes KE, Selfe TK, Vishnu A. Mind-body therapies for menopausal symptoms: a systematic review. Maturitas. 2010 Jun;66(2):135-49. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2010.01.016. Epub 2010 Feb 18.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20167444 (View on PubMed)

Vegter S, Kolling P, Toben M, Visser ST, de Jong-van den Berg LT. Replacing hormone therapy--is the decline in prescribing sustained, and are nonhormonal drugs substituted? Menopause. 2009 Mar-Apr;16(2):329-35. doi: 10.1097/gme.0b013e31818c046b.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 19188855 (View on PubMed)

Hoffmann M, Hammar M, Kjellgren KI, Lindh-Astrand L, Brynhildsen J. Changes in women's attitudes towards and use of hormone therapy after HERS and WHI. Maturitas. 2005 Sep 16;52(1):11-7. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2005.06.003.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16023804 (View on PubMed)

Nelson HD, Vesco KK, Haney E, Fu R, Nedrow A, Miller J, Nicolaidis C, Walker M, Humphrey L. Nonhormonal therapies for menopausal hot flashes: systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2006 May 3;295(17):2057-71. doi: 10.1001/jama.295.17.2057.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16670414 (View on PubMed)

Lethaby AE, Brown J, Marjoribanks J, Kronenberg F, Roberts H, Eden J. Phytoestrogens for vasomotor menopausal symptoms. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007 Oct 17;(4):CD001395. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001395.pub3.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 17943751 (View on PubMed)

Wyon Y, Wijma K, Nedstrand E, Hammar M. A comparison of acupuncture and oral estradiol treatment of vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women. Climacteric. 2004 Jun;7(2):153-64. doi: 10.1080/13697130410001713814.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15497904 (View on PubMed)

Lee MS, Shin BC, Ernst E. Acupuncture for treating menopausal hot flushes: a systematic review. Climacteric. 2009 Feb;12(1):16-25. doi: 10.1080/13697130802566980.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 19116803 (View on PubMed)

Speroff L, Gass M, Constantine G, Olivier S; Study 315 Investigators. Efficacy and tolerability of desvenlafaxine succinate treatment for menopausal vasomotor symptoms: a randomized controlled trial. Obstet Gynecol. 2008 Jan;111(1):77-87. doi: 10.1097/01.AOG.0000297371.89129.b3.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 18165395 (View on PubMed)

Wiklund I, Karlberg J, Lindgren R, Sandin K, Mattsson LA. A Swedish version of the Women's Health Questionnaire. A measure of postmenopausal complaints. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1993 Nov;72(8):648-55. doi: 10.3109/00016349309021159.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 8259753 (View on PubMed)

Hunter M. The women's health Questionnaire: a meassure of mid-aged women's perceptions on their emotional and physical health. Psycol Health 7: 45-54, 1992

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Aardal E, Holm AC. Cortisol in saliva--reference ranges and relation to cortisol in serum. Eur J Clin Chem Clin Biochem. 1995 Dec;33(12):927-32. doi: 10.1515/cclm.1995.33.12.927.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 8845424 (View on PubMed)

Lindh-Astrand L, Nedstrand E. Effects of applied relaxation on vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled trial. Menopause. 2013 Apr;20(4):401-8. doi: 10.1097/gme.0b013e318272ce80.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 23149867 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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LiÖ/AR-2007

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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