Prospective

Ting Gao

Room 426, School of Public Health and Primary Care

22528758

tiffanyding@cuhk.edu.hk

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Samuel Yeung Shan Wong

Room 401, School of Public Health and Primary Care

22528774

yeungshanwong@cuhk.edu.hk

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

基層醫療中的更年期徵狀研究計畫

Yes

2012-01-17

Other

mindfulness based stress reduction program

The program will include daily homework exercises that consist of guided (taped) or unguided awareness exercises directed at increasing moment-by-moment non-judgmental awareness of bodily sensations, thoughts and feelings, together with exercises designed to integrate the application of awareness skills into daily life. The curriculum will include training in mindfulness through (1) a body scan, the gradual moving of attention through the body from head to feet while lying on a mat on the floor, brining awareness particularly to bodily sensations; (2) sitting meditation, in which attention is brought to breathing sensations and the flow of bodily sensations, thoughts, and emotions; and (3) mindful stretching exercises, to cultivate awareness during simple stretching movement. The key themes of MBSR will include the empowerment of participants and a focus on awareness and acceptance of experience at the present moment. Participants are guided to develop a “decentered” perspective on thoughts and feelings, in which these are viewed as passing events in the mind.

The MBSR program will consist of two-and-a-half-hour weekly sessions for eight weeks with a total of

The MEC will consist of an eight-week psycho-education intervention that is based on principles used in a health education intervention for middle-aged women to increase their knowledge and their self-efficacy in relation to the menopause. These sessions will include health education with respect to information about the menopause, self-help and medical treatments, discussion of expectations and beliefs about the menopause, focus on general health (reducing stress, exercise, smoking and diet.

(1) women aged 40-60,1, 6 who are peri-menopausal or early post-menopausal1 (but who are not affected by hysterectomy, oophorectomy or pregnancy). In this study, peri-menopausal status is defined as the period immediately prior to the menopause with change in menstrual pattern and irregular cycle (defined as changes in frequency compared with 12 months ago) and post-menopausal status is defined as absence of periods for at least 12 months; (2) women having a somatic symptom score of six or above on the Greene Climacteric Symptom Score; and (3) women who are willing to maintain the present exercise, dietary pattern, and dose of any soy supplements.

(1) psychiatric and medical comorbidities that are potentially life-threatening (i.e., psychosis, suicidal ideation, terminal medical illness) or conditions expected to severely limit patient participation or adherence (e.g., psychosis, current substance or alcohol abuse, dementia, pregnancy); and (2) medical conditions or medications that may affect menopausal symptoms including hot flushes (such as the presence of thyroid disease or the use of selective estrogen receptor modulator, hormone therapy, or the use of traditional Chinese medicine for the menopause). (3) Women who have previously practiced or are currently practicing meditation will be excluded from the study. Women with breast cancer are eligible as long as they have completed all the treatments for their cancer with partial or total remission for at least six months. The women will be asked to report their initiation of the use of any medications during the study, and women who use any anxiolytics or SSRIs will be asked to keep their present dosage stable and to immediately report any changes during the study period.

40

60

Female

Randomized

Active

Single-blind

Parallel

No

Yes

Nil