2026-10-17 · ABC News (AU)
🔮 "Looking at family history of other cancers, breast screening, cervical screening and having that conversation around chronic conditions."
How do the guidelines work?
The guidelines list a range of possible treatment options for different menopausal symptoms, including menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), acupuncture and hypnosis, ranking available evidence on a scale of very low to high.
The guidelines recommend that women taking MHT have an annual review with their doctor.
But there's not enough evidence that weight loss or physical activity alone will improve hot flushes or night sweats, or that hypnosis will improve sleep.
Dr Melville, a specialist gynaecologist and sub-specialist in sexual and reproductive health, said the new guidelines would hopefully make it easier for clinicians and patients to understand their options.
For example, women with a history of breast cancer can be offered vaginal oestrogen to ease menopausal symptoms.
Although RANZCOG had previously released statements about managing menopausal symptoms, Dr Melville said these were their first evidence-based guidelines.
How will it improve patient care?
Women should receive the same standardised recommendations no matter who they see or where they live if clinicians across Australia use the same guidelines.
Jean Hailes for Women's Health chief executive Sarah White, who was not involved with the guidelines, said this was important because clinicians wanted to give their patients the very best support, but there was a lot of online misinformation to wade through. assertive
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