Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction for Hot Flashes

The majority of women experience vasomotor symptoms (VMS) such as hot flashes (HF) and night sweats as they transition through menopause, and a substantial minority experience considerable distress and diminished role functioning. Until recently most women found relief through hormone therapy (HT), but concern about the health risks associated with HT has left women with few effective and safe choices for relief from their symptoms other than their own coping strategies. A variety of results from both population and laboratory studies suggest that stress and HF are correlated and that HF are more severe in women with lower coping abilities, but evidence is far from conclusive. Consequently, investigators have called for trials to evaluate the effect of stress reduction interventions on HF. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a widely available manualized program shown to be an effective adjunctive intervention in reducing medical symptoms and psychological distress for a wide range of stress-related disorders. In a small preliminary study using MBSR we found reductions in HF severity scores and increases in menopause-related quality of life (QOL). This R21 proposal is for a pilot randomized trial of MBSR compared to a wait-list control group for 120 menopausal women experiencing seven or more HF/day of moderate to severe intensity. It aims to:

1. assess feasibility of recruitment, adherence to program intervention, and compliance with assessment instruments in preparation for a larger RCT; and
2. provide preliminary estimates of efficacy of the effects of MBSR in reducing self-reported HF frequency and intensity and improving QOL.

In addition, we will use sternal skin conductance as an established objective measure of VMS in a subgroup of 15 women in each arm to test feasibility and obtain information on how objectively measured HF are related to self-reported HF in this setting. Women will be assessed at baseline, at the end of the eight-week MBSR course, and at three months after the end of the course. A secondary aim is to explore whether treatment group differences of HF frequency and intensity and QOL are explained by changes in perceived stress, health-related locus of control and mindfulness. It is anticipated that results from this pilot study will provide data needed to plan a larger more definitive randomized trial on the effect of MBSR on HF frequency and intensity and on the ability to cope with these symptoms.