Background: Globally, the number of postmenopausal women is expected to reach 1.1 billion by 2025. Menopausal symptoms can be so severe that they affect the quality of life (QOL) of menopausal women. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of folic acid on the frequency, severity, and score of hot flashes in postmenopausal women.
Methods: A double-blind randomised placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted at El Mahsama Family Practice Centre, Ismailia, Egypt, between August 2019 and October 2020 on 100 postmenopausal women who were randomly allocated into two groups: a 5mg/daily folic acid group or an identical-appearing placebo group for 4 weeks. Data on socio-demographic characteristics and obstetric history were gathered using a semi-structured questionnaire. A daily hot flashes record was used to gather information about the frequency, severity, and score of hot flashes. The menopause-specific quality of life (MENQOL) was used to assess the QOL of post-menopausal women.
Results: There was a statistically significant difference between both groups regarding hot flashes frequency, severity, and hot flashes score (p =0.015, 0.001, and 0.002), respectively. The folic acid group shows that 22% of participants were clinically improved compared with no clinical improvement among the placebo group (χ2 =12.360, p<0.001). It was found that there was no statistically significant difference between the groups regarding their MENQOL domains after treatment.
Conclusion: Folic acid was effective in reducing frequency, severity, and hot flashes score in postmenopausal women, so it can be recommended as an accessible and affordable method to treat hot flashes.