The Effect of Tibolone on Climacteric Symptoms of Healthy Postmenopausal Women

ABSTRACT: Introduction & Objective: Menopause is related to many symptoms that have an effect on women’s life quality. HRT and its alternatives such as Tibolone are some of the routes for enhancement of different aspects of QoL in menopause. The aim of this study was the comparison of the effects of Tibolone and placebo on climacteric symptoms of healthy menopausal women. Materials & Methods: This is a randomized, prospective clinical study. A total of 96 women with no absolute contraindication for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) that reffered to selected clinics (gynecologic clinics in Fajr and Avesina Hospitals, Aboraihan and Shahid Haidari Polyclinic and an individual clinic) during 2007-2008 were divided into two groups: 41 women in the Tibolone group received Tibolone 2.5 mg/day + Ca-D (500 mg +200 IU) and 45 women in the placebo group received only Ca-D (500 mg +200 IU) for six months. At baseline and after six months, climacteric symptoms were assessed by Greene Climacteric Scale (GCS). Data was analyzed by SPSS version 15. Paired and independent t-test, Chi-Square test and Mann-Whitney were used for analyzing the collected data. Results: Thirty two women in the Tibolone group and 43 women in the placebo completed the study. Comparing the baseline and placebo values, the Tibolone group significantly improved on all of GCS subscales which include: depression, anxiety, somatic, vasomotor symptoms and libido (P<0.05). Conclusion: In postmenopausal women, Tibolone significantly improved all aspects of climacteric symptoms and increased their quality of life. Keywords: Tibolone, menopausal women, Greene Climacteric Scale