Private menopause tests risk undermining NHS care, doctors say | Menopause
Senior doctors, expensive, non -prescription hormone tests clinically useless and announced the risk of weakening women’s health services.
He claims that the test kits offered by private clinics and which can be purchased for self -test, measuring hormone levels and provide special information. However, they are defined by experts as misleading and medically unnecessary.
“To have these tests, there is an increasing number of private health and telealth clinic that offers tests about social media and podcasts. editorial It is encouraged to inform the UNJ titled Menopause.
“Unfortunately, these tests are not evidence -based,” he added. “They do not give us new information or they do not make treatment more effective. All they do is encourage women to spend hundreds of pounds on tests that do not make a difference in the treatment that should be given.”
There are two types of menopausal hormones in the UK: some fast urine -based tests that claim to give results in just two minutes and the finger tax tests sent for laboratory analysis with the results that are guaranteed within one to two days.
Urine tests are available in ASDA and High Street stores, including SuperDrug, for about £ 8. Blood tests vary from £ 32 to ASDA online to £ 189 in Bluecrest Wellness.
Nice, American women’s innkeeper college and gynecologists and the guidelines of the British Menopause Association agree that menopause should be diagnosed only based on symptoms for women over 45 years of age. Hormone levels fluctuate daily and accept experts, do not offer a reliable diagnostic value.
“These tests are marketed to patients and clinicians when necessary for ‘individualization’ hormone treatment, Ster Sterry said. “Nevertheless, these tests have limited clinical use, because there is no clearly defined therapeutic window for menopausal hormone treatment, and some test techniques do not provide correct or precise evaluation of hormone levels.”
For perimenopause and menopause, the hormone test does not provide a reliable way to determine when the last menstrual period will take place or if it is safe to stop birth control.
Dr. Paula Briggs, President of the British Menopause Association, accepted. “Things are very wrong,” he said. “The increasing popularity of these tests has led to unrealistic expectations of women with unrealistic expectations of what HRT can offer – especially mental illness and ‘rapid correction’. This leads to the rise of irregular treatments such as expensive biotecal hormones.”
Briggs emphasized the need for maintenance with NHS. He said that he was so worried about the commercialization of women’s health and that he no longer practiced.
Dr. Susanna Elemworth, a menopause and female healthcare specialist, admitted that hormone tests give “absolutely” care and a “important” problem.
Orum I definitely see this more, ”he said. “Women ask me if they first need blood tests before their appointments. My answer is almost always no, but more and more, they come out with the pages of the result they organize themselves.
“The problem is that most of these results cannot be interpreted in a significant way and this makes both of us in a difficult position: companies often advise women to take these results to menopause doctors, so when I explain that they do not add value, weaken their trust in me,” he added.
Dr. Martin Thornton, special clinical clinical bluecrest medical director, advocated the use of tests.
“Most of them are about strengthening by providing women with their symptoms, because most of the symptoms are not simple.
“The test allows people to open a dialogue with their doctors and can help you understand whether menopause or something else,” he said.
However, Sterry refused: “There is no evidence that a woman’s severity of symptoms or symptoms experienced in perimenopause is associated with data from blood tests.
“If a woman has symptoms and does not show the tests of menopause, it can be very confusing,” he added. “This leads to insufficient diagnosis and less treatment.
“Evidence -based application principle is that a test should be performed only if the result is to guide the patient care directly,” he said. “In the treatment of menopause, hormone test is not supported by evidence and does not improve care. Treatment should be guided by the patient’s individual symptoms, not by treating numbers.”
ASDA was approached for a comment. A SuperDrug spokesman said: “Following customer feedback, we started FSH [follicle stimulating hormone] Women test us as they say they want them to measure FSH levels.
“Your result comes with special medical advice from our doctors based on a combination of evaluation answers and test results.”
