Menopause in Latin America: Symptoms, Attitudes, Treatments and Future Directions in Costa Rica

Maturitas. 2017 Oct;104:84-89. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2017.07.008. Epub 2017 Jul 27. Locklear TD1, Doyle BJ2, Perez AL3, Wicks SM4, Mahady GB5. Author information 1 Duke Clinical Research Institute, 2400 Pratt St. North Pavilion, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. 2 Departments of Biology and Biochemistry, Alma College, Alma, MI, USA. 3 Centro de Investigaciones en Productos Naturales (CIPRONA), Natural Products Research Center, University of Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica. 4 Rush University Medical Center, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA. 5 Department of Pharmacy Practice, WHO Collaborating Centre for Traditional Medicine, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. Electronic address: mahady@uic.edu. Abstract Similar to their US counterparts, Costa Rican women enter menopause at ∼50 years of age, have similar symptoms, including hot flashes and night sweats, as well as an overall negative attitude toward the menopausal transition. One study of rural women in Monteverde reported that women knew little about the menopausal transition, as the subject was not discussed. Similar to other Latin American women, the use of hormone therapy by Costa Rican women is low and instead they use alternative therapies, including massage, dietary changes and herbal medicines. A wide variety of herbal therapies are used, and some of these herbs have estrogenic activities in vitro. However, clinical data on the safety and efficacy of any of these treatments is lacking. Recently, a disturbing increase in the incidence of human papilloma virus infections in menopausal women has been reported, due in part to more sexual freedom after menopause. Fortunately, the strain of HPV infecting these women is not associated with cervical cancer. Overall, there is a significant lack of scientific and medical research on menopausal women in Costa Rica. Considering the aging population, the high use of herbal medicines by menopausal women and the lack of clinical studies on these treatments, future research should focus on gaining a better understanding of menopause in this population. Furthermore, new educational programs for these women and the health professionals who serve them are necessary, as well as investigations of the safety and efficacy of the herbal supplements women use to manage their menopausal symptoms. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KEYWORDS: Estrogen; Ethnically diverse; HPV; Herbal; Menopause PMID: 28923180 PMCID: PMC5616184 [Available on 2018-10-01] DOI: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2017.07.008 Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Google+