The effect of oral vitamin E and omega-3 alone and in combination on menopausal hot flushes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

This systematic review was conducted to investigate the effects of vitamin E and omega-3 used alone and in combination on the frequency and intensity of hot flushes (primary outcomes) and adverse effects (secondary outcome) in menopausal women. English and Persian databases were searched until March 18, 2021. The quality of the published papers was evaluated using Cochrane Handbook and the meta-analysis was conducted in RevMan 5.3. Heterogeneity was assessed using I2. In cases with substantial heterogeneity, a random effects model was used instead of a fixed effects model. A total of 387 papers were obtained from the databases. Finally, 10 papers with a sample size of 1100 participants entered the systematic review and a meta-analysis was conducted on nine of them. The results of the meta-analysis of two studies indicated that using vitamin E and omega-3 in combination significantly reduced the intensity of hot flushes compared to the placebo (mean difference (MD): −0.35; 95% CI: −0.48 to −0.21). The mean frequency (MD: −0.50; 95% CI: −1.58 to 0.58) and intensity (SMD: −0.61; 95% CI: −1.50 to 0.29) of hot flushes in the omega-3 group and the frequency of hot flushes (SMD: −0.21; 95% CI: −0.47 to 0.04) in the vitamin E group showed no significant differences with the placebo. No serious adverse effects were reported in the studies. Given the low number of RCTs, more clinical trials with larger sample size are required.