Comparing Two Treatment Methods of Vitamin E Suppository and Conjugated Estrogen Vaginal Cream on the Quality of Life in Menopausal Women with Vaginal Atrophy

Abstract

<em>Background & aim:</em> Menopause is one of the most critical stages in a woman's life. Special attention needs to be paid to the quality of life of menopausal women. Symptoms of genitourinary atrophy can affect women's comfort and quality of life. The aim of this study was to compare two treatment methods of vitamin E suppository and conjugated estrogens vaginal cream on the quality of life of menopausal women with vaginal atrophy. <em>Methods:</em> This clinical trial was performed on 52 menopausal women (40-65 years old), referring to the gynecology clinic of Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad, Iran in 2013. Women were randomly assigned to two groups to use either conjugated estrogens vaginal cream or vitamin E suppository for 12 weeks. Women's quality of life was measured in both groups before the study and 4, 8 and 12 weeks after the interventions. Data collection tools included a demographic questionnaire and Menopause-Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) questionnaire. Fisher's exact test, repeated measures ANOVA, Mann-Whitney and t-test were performed to analyze data, using SPSS version 11.5. <em>Results:</em> The mean scores of quality of life before intervention and after 4, 8 and 12 weeks of therapy were 70.03±26.34, 53.96±23.75, 43.03±20.62 and 33±18.26 in vitamin E suppository group, respectively. These values in the estrogen cream group were 64±27.83, 50.76±21.51, 37.23±20.96 and 29.53±18.65, respectively. Comparison of quality of life scores between the two groups did not show a statistically significant difference (P>0.05). <em>Conclusion:</em> The two groups were not significantly different in terms of the effectiveness of two methods of therapy. Therefore, it seems that vitamin E suppository could be used as an effective method for the improvement of quality of life in patients with vaginal atrophy.