The Effect of Vitamin E Supplementation in Postmenopausal Women-A Systematic Review

Menopause is a physiological change in any woman. Nevertheless, its symptoms could be difficult to accept, and hormone therapy can be sometimes unattractive or contraindicated. Vitamin E components are phytoestrogens, so they are believed to be useful in some indications including menopause. This review aimed to assess the available evidence on the effectiveness of vitamin E in alleviating menopausal symptoms. The Pubmed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library and Scopus databases were screened. All types of studies that assessed the effectiveness of vitamin E in alleviating menopausal symptoms were included. The PICO question was: How does vitamin E supplementation affect menopausal symptom occurrence? The PROSPERO ID number of this review is CRD42022328830. After quality assessment, 16 studies were included in the analysis. The studies were divided into three groups in which the influence of vitamin E on the genital syndrome of menopause, vasomotor symptoms and vascular and metabolic changes were assessed. Vitamin E influences postmenopausal hot flashes, vascular modulation, plasma lipid profile level and vaginal changes. Compared to vitamin E, estrogen administration leads to better clinical effects. Nevertheless, vitamin E might serve as additive to hormone therapy and its alternative in women with contraindications to estrogens. More quality data are necessary to draw final conclusions.

Automated summary

Menopause is a physiological change in women, but its symptoms can be difficult to accept and hormone therapy may not always be desirable. Vitamin E, as a phytoestrogen, is believed to be useful in alleviating some menopausal symptoms. This review aimed to assess the effectiveness of vitamin E in alleviating menopausal symptoms and found that it influences hot flashes, vascular modulation, lipid profile, and vaginal changes. However, estrogen administration has better clinical effects. Additional high-quality data is needed for conclusive findings.