Encuesta sobre conocimientos y uso de terapias alternas a la hormonal en mujeres menopáusicas de medellín (Colombia) 2009

Objective: describing knowledge about and the use of alternative therapies to traditional hormone replacement in menopausal women. Materials and methods: a cross-sectional, descriptive study of menopausal women was carried out in the city of Medellín, Colombia, during 2009. Inclusion criteria were: being aged ≥40, having finished their menstrual cycles at least one year beforehand and having no background of hysterectomy. Women who agreed to participate in the study answered a questionnaire requiring that they give anonymous information about socio-demographic variables, the date of their last menstruation, symptomatology during the menopause and the use and characteristics of alternative therapies and hormone replacement therapy during menopause. Results: 274 women were surveyed; 10.6% of them were using natural hormones and 46.0% used soy-based products. Regarding alternative and complementary medical therapies for menopausal symptomatology different to natural hormones, 32.8% of the women stated that they had heard of some of them, the most well-known being homeopathy (18.6%), yoga (16.8%) and relaxation therapy (12.0%). Conclusion: a high percentage of menopausal women in the survey knew about and used alternative therapies to that of traditional hormone replacement for managing menopauseassociated symptomatology, especially consuming phytoestrogens and soy-based products.