Comparing the effects of tibolone and continuous hormone replacement therapy on the vaginal maturation index and value in menopausal women

  Introduction: Atrophic vaginitis is one of the most common complications in menopause. Different hormonal replacement therapy methods are available that can relief this status. The objective of this research was comparing the therapeutic effects of tibolone and continuous hormone replacement therapy on the vaginal maturation index and vaginal maturation value.   Material & methods: 150 healthy women in postmenopausal period were randomly enrolled in this controlled clinical trial. Women were allocated in the three groups tibolone, hormone replacement therapy and Ca+D tablet. Vaginal maturation index and vaginal maturation value were determined by Pap smear test before and six months after the treatments.   Results: Wilcoxon test revealed the percentage of parabasal cells, superficial cells and vaginal maturation value were different before and after the treatments in hormone replacement therapy and tibolone groups (P=0.001). Mann-Whitney test show that the percentage of parabasal cells was lower in hormone replacement therapy group in comparison within tibolone (P=0.002) and Ca+D groups (P=0.001). Also this variable was lower in the tibolone group in comparison within the Ca+D group (P=0.001). The percentage of intermediate cells was more in hormone replacement therapy group in comparison within the tibolone (P=0.03) and Ca+D groups (P=0.001), but there weren’t significant difference between tibolone and Ca+D groups. In this regard, the percentage of superficial cells and maturation value were more in tibolone and hormone replacement therapy groups in comparison within Ca+D group (P=0.001), but these variable weren’t different between hormone replacement therapy and tibolone groups.   Conclusion: Therapeutic effects of tibolone on vaginal maturation index and vaginal maturation value were similar to hormone replacement therapy. Due to side effects and possible risks of classical hormone therapy, more attention to these points is suggested to medical team and health care providers for the best choose treatment in menopausal women.