Pharmacologic Treatments for Female Menopausal Vasomotor Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis for the American College of Physicians.

Estrogens with or without progestogens significantly reduce VMS frequency and severity and improve quality of life in perimenopausal and postmenopausal females.

• Why it matters: Vasomotor symptoms are common during menopause, and understanding effective treatments is crucial for improving patient outcomes and guiding clinical decisions.
• What they did: The systematic review and meta-analysis included 90 randomized trials assessing pharmacologic treatments for VMS, focusing on benefits, harms, and patient preferences, with most evidence rated as low to moderate certainty.
• The result: Estrogens with or without progestogens are of high economic value, while NKRAs, SNRIs, and SSRIs also improve VMS, quality of life, and sleep, though harms data remain limited.