Effect of vitamin E supplementation on chronic insomnia disorder in postmenopausal women
Chronic insomnia disorder is one of the most common problems in postmenopausal women, exacerbated by underdiagnosis and improper treatment.
This double-blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the potential of vitamin E to treat chronic insomnia as an alternative to sedative drugs and hormonal therapy.
The study enrolled 160 postmenopausal women with chronic insomnia disorder, divided randomly into two groups. The vitamin E group received 400 units of mixed tocopherol daily, while the placebo group received an identical oral capsule.
The primary outcome of this study was sleep quality assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a self-evaluated and standardized questionnaire. The secondary outcome was the percentage of participants using sedative drugs. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the study groups.
However, the median PSQI score at baseline was slightly higher in the vitamin E group compared with the placebo. After one month of intervention, the PSQI score was significantly lower (indicating better sleep quality) in the vitamin E group compared with the placebo.
Moreover, the improvement score was significantly higher in the vitamin E group compared with the placebo. In addition, there was a significant reduction in the percentage of patients using sedative drugs in the vitamin E group (15%), while this reduction was not statistically significant in the placebo group (7.5%).
This study demonstrates vitamin E’s potential as an excellent alternative treatment for chronic insomnia disorder that improves sleep quality and reduces sedative drug use.
-
This study looked at more than 7,000 women over 60 in the US (NHANES 2005–2020) to understand how the age at menopause relates to depression in later life,…
-
3,000 women were followed for 10 years to ask a simple question: does the menopausal transition itself increase the risk of significant anxiety symptoms? What was…
-
This long-term study followed 233 women from before menopause to after their final period to see how different types of anxiety relate to hot flushes.…
-
This study followed 122 late peri‑ and postmenopausal women (average age 59) to see how their sleep relates to early brain changes that raise the…
-
An analysis of whether “moderate” alcohol intake (even within current guidelines) is linked to higher iron in the brain and, in turn, to worse cognitive…
-
Age‑related cognitive decline, including Alzheimer’s disease, can be understood as a myelin problem rather than only a “plaques and tangles” problem. Myelin is the fatty insulation around…
-
In a small number of animal species, females cease reproducing long before the end of their natural lifespan. A prolonged post‑reproductive life stage is exceptionally…
-
Copper has two key properties that are being exploited in consumer and medical device products in the last decade. On the one hand, copper has…
-
While osteoporosis and psychological stress occur via differing mechanisms, there are several potential molecular links that exist between a pathological response to stress and the…
-
Excess glucocorticoids are well recognised as a cause of osteoporosis; they inhibit osteoblast function and increase osteoblast and osteocyte apoptosis resulting in thinning of the…
-
Osteoporosis, a consequence of menopause in the biological cycle of women, emerges with the conclusion of reproductive capabi lities.Hormonal changes during this phase contribute to…
-
The purpose of this study was to determine the longitudinal association between menopausal vasomotor symptoms (VMS) and urinary N-telopeptide level (NTX) according to menopausal stage. We…
-
Objective: To determine whether women with vasomotor symptoms (VMS) have lower bone mineral density (BMD) than women without VMS. Design We analyzed data from baseline…
-
Background: Osteocalcin, has high affinity for calcium. In osteoporotic women, deficiency of calcium may lead to lowering of the formation of hydroxyapatite crystals. Thus, in the…
-
A severe impairment of cognitive function characterizes dementia. Mild cognitive impairment represents a transition between normal cognition and dementia. The frequency of cognitive changes is…