Acupuncture for menopausal hot flashes

Abstract

Background: Hot flashes (HFs) affect up to 75% of menopausal women and pose a considerable health and financial burden. Evidence of acupuncture efficacy as an HF treatment is conflicting. Objective: To assess the efficacy of Chinese medicine acupuncture against sham acupuncture for menopausal HFs. Design: Stratified, blind (participants, outcome assessors, and investigators, but not treating acupuncturists), parallel, randomized, sham-controlled trial with equal allocation. (Australia New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12611000393954) Setting: Community in Australia. Participants: Women older than 40 years in the late menopausal transition or postmenopause with at least 7 moderate HF..