The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has updated its guidance on menopause treatment, recommending hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as the first-line treatment for managing menopause symptoms like hot flushes and night sweats. The new guidelines emphasize that HRT does not affect life expectancy, despite some associated risks such as a slight increase in breast cancer risk and a potential slight increase in dementia risk for women starting HRT after age 65. However, HRT has benefits like reducing the risk of osteoporosis fractures.
Additionally, NICE suggests offering cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as an alternative or supplementary treatment for women over 40, depending on individual circumstances. This change follows feedback on earlier draft guidelines that controversially suggested CBT could replace HRT.
The updated guidelines also include visual aids to help GPs better inform patients about treatment options and their risks. While the guidance stresses the need to consider each woman’s personal situation, it highlights the importance of raising awareness and improving access to menopause treatments, particularly for women from ethnic minority and lower-income backgrounds.