Meditation and therapy should be prescribed on the NHS to help treat women struggling with symptoms of the menopause, research suggests.
A University College London study found that mindfulness, meditation and talking therapies can improve quality of life in menopausal women, reducing anxiety and brain fog.
Experts said doctors should consider prescribing psychological therapy as a treatment for the menopause as an additional option to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) medication.
They suggested therapy could help women to cope better with symptoms such as hot flushes and poor sleep, ending the “vicious cycle” in which women may be anxious or panic over physical symptoms, in turn making those symptoms worse. Women could also try meditating at home to help reduce anxiety and depression, the authors said.
The study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, used data from 3,501 women who participated in trials looking at the effectiveness of different types of therapy meant to improve mood and concentration problems such as “brain fog”.
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It found significant benefits from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which involves developing strategies to cope with negative thoughts. Symptoms also improved significantly with mindfulness, which involves activities such as meditation and yoga aimed at helping people relax and focus on the present.
About 30 per cent of women going through the menopause suffer depression, while 50 per cent report anxiety or irritability and 60 per cent have brain fog or memory problems.
Professor Aimee Spector, the study��s lead author, said doctors were increasingly aware of the huge impact of the menopause on mental health and brain function, as well as physical symptoms.
She said: “We know there’s a clear link between these physical and psychological symptoms. For example, when people have hot flushes they tend to get very anxious about having them, and that anxiety can often cause people to have more hot flushes.”
Spector said mindfulness or CBT can help “counter these negative cycles” that lead to shame or embarrassment and sometimes cause women to quit work. She said meditation can help women “pay attention to the here and now … rather than panicking and worrying” about symptoms.
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Mindfulness therapy is offered by some NHS trusts as a treatment for depression. Spector said the therapies should not replace HRT but could be offered on top of medication, while also providing an option for women who cannot take HRT for medical reasons, including breast cancer patients.
She said: “Menopause management is now a prioritised topic in public health. However, most studies of menopause symptom management focus on hormonal replacement therapy and physiological symptoms.
“This restricts treatment options for women who are concerned about the risks of hormone replacement therapy and overlooks the wellbeing of women with non-physiological symptoms, such as brain fog and mood problems, which are highly prevalent.”
Dr Roopal Desai, a senior author of the study, said: “GPs and healthcare providers often struggle to know what to offer beyond medical treatment. This research will help give GPs and patients more options.”
The menopause is when periods stop due to naturally falling hormone levels, usually between the age 45 and 55, which can cause debilitating symptoms.
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In November, draft guidance for the NHS said doctors should consider offering women talking therapy in addition to HRT, which provides oestrogen through tablets, patches or gels to combat the symptoms of the menopause.
Last week the equalities watchdog ruled that employers could be sued for disability discrimination if they fail to make “reasonable adjustments” for menopausal women such as allowing them to work from home or lowering the temperature in the office.
