id: vasomotor-symptoms
title: "Vasomotor symptoms"
kind: symptom
summary: >-
  Vasomotor symptoms — hot flushes and night sweats — are among the most
  common menopausal symptoms. The Menopause Society's 2023 Nonhormone Therapy
  Position Statement reports Level I evidence (good and consistent scientific
  evidence) supporting cognitive-behavioral therapy, clinical hypnosis,
  SSRIs/SNRIs, gabapentin, and fezolinetant (a neurokinin 3 receptor
  antagonist); oxybutynin is graded at Levels I–II, and weight loss and
  stellate ganglion block at Levels II–III. The same statement reports that
  paced respiration, over-the-counter supplements and herbal remedies, cooling
  techniques, trigger avoidance, exercise, yoga, mindfulness-based
  intervention, relaxation, and acupuncture are not recommended for vasomotor
  symptoms. Hormone therapy is reported separately as the most effective
  treatment. This entry summarizes what the literature reports for navigation
  and is not medical advice.
evidence_strength: moderate
status: published
sources:
  - url: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37252752/
    title: "The Menopause Society — 2023 Nonhormone Therapy Position Statement (Menopause, 2023; PMID 37252752)"
    publisher: The Menopause Society (Menopause journal)
    date: "2023"
    note: "Grades non-hormone therapies for VMS by evidence level (Level I = good and consistent scientific evidence)."
signals:
  - sig-20260710-vms-nonhormone-recommended
  - sig-20260710-vms-nonhormone-not-recommended
confidence: medium
first_seen: "2026-07-10"
last_updated: "2026-07-10"
notes: >-
  Maps to entities.yml `vasomotor-symptoms` (symptom). Both signals derive from
  a single source (The Menopause Society 2023 Nonhormone Therapy Position
  Statement), so confidence is medium. evidence_strength set to moderate: the
  source is a professional-society position statement (a guideline) but it
  grades several therapies at Level I (controlled-trial) evidence; the
  underlying trials/meta-analyses are not directly cited here. The "not
  recommended" therapies are retained as negative evidence, not dropped
  (GD-0004). Cross-references: hormone therapy (`menopausal-hormone-therapy`)
  and fezolinetant (`fezolinetant`) are kept as distinct intervention entries
  per profile (drug/intervention vs. the symptom it is studied for).