Efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy for menopausal symptoms and quality of life in Korean perimenopausal women: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

• A program of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been developed specifically for perimenopausal women in Korea. • It proved effective for menopausal emotional and somatic symptoms, as well as quality-of-life problems. • The CBT program effectively manages anxiety through education. • It represents a non-pharmaceutical intervention for menopause. Therapeutic interventions are crucial for perimenopausal women, given the challenging physical and psychological symptoms they face. This study focused on the development and verification of the efficacy of a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) protocol designed specifically for Korean perimenopausal women. A CBT protocol for perimenopausal women was newly developed based on theory and evidence. Forty menopausal women were randomly assigned to either the CBT group (n = 19) or treatment-as-usual (TAU) group (n = 21). Participants in the CBT group underwent 60-min weekly sessions for eight weeks. The TAU group received standard care from gynecologists. At baseline and follow-up, participants completed the Menopausal Rating Scale (MRS), World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF), Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15), Menopause Emotional Symptom Questionnaire (MESQ), and Subjective Memory Complaints Questionnaire. The CBT group showed significant changes in their MRS (F = 4.18, p =.048), WHOQOL-BREF (7.60, 0.009), GAD-7 (4.61, 0.038), PHQ-15 (5.49, 0.025), and MESQ scores (7.19, 0.011) compared to the TAU group. In the CBT group, changes in GAD-7 scores were correlated with PHQ-15 (ρ = 0.57, p <.05), MESQ (0.57, < 0.05), and WHOQOL-BREF scores (−0.53, < 0.05). CBT prevents the worsening of menopausal and emotional symptoms, anxiety, and quality of life. CBT may have had a therapeutic effect through the following mechanisms: managing anxiety by changing perceptions of menopause through education and training for coping with various menopausal symptoms and improving self-efficacy in symptom management. KCT0007517. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]