Effects of phytoestrogens in the treatment of postmenopausal depressive
disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract
Background:Menopause-related symptoms are now a major public health
concern and depression is one of the most common and specific symptoms
of post-menopause. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess
the effectiveness of different kinds of phytoestrogens in the remission
of depression for postmenopausal women. Methods: A comprehensive search
for relevant studies published between January 1, 1951 and June 30, 2020
was conducted in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Chinese Biomedical
Literature Database, Web of Science and EMBASE. Endnote X9 was used for
screening articles, the Stata12.0 and Review Manager 5.3 for analyzing
data. Results: Phytoestrogens had a have a significant positive effect
on depressive symptoms for climacteric women compared to the placebo
(SMD=-0.51; 95% [CI]=-0.74 to -0.29; I2=72.4%; P<0.05).
The effectiveness in isoflavones (SMD=-0.64; 95% [CI]=-0.97 to
-0.32; I2=56.2%, P>0.05) is slightly better than
non-isoflavones (SMD=-0.5; 95%[CI]=-93 to -0.07; I2=72.8%,
P<0.05). The total intake of phytoestrogens in the high dose
group was the most effective in alleviating the symptoms of
postmenopausal depression (SMD=-0.69; 95%CI=-1.09 to -0.35,
P<0.05). Postmenopausal women in Europe had the best
improvement in efficacy after taking phytoestrogens (SMD=-0.72, 95%
CI=-1.09 to -0.35, I2=65.5%, P<0.05). Conclusions: Our study
demonstrated that phytoestrogen significantly reduce depression among
postmenopausal women, with more effect for larger dosages. Phytoestrogen
should be considered as a safe and effective complementary medicine for
postmenopausal symptoms in place of estrogens.