A German online cross-sectional survey on herbal medicinal products for the treatment and management of gynaecological ailments

Abstract Menstrual and menopausal ailments, as well as uncomplicated urinary tract infections, are the most common non-life-threatening gynaecological ailments. They are usually treated with standard chemically defined or/and herbal medicines. Although there have been surveys of affected women on perception, impairment and personal management of gynaecological ailments, the use of medication using real-world data based on everyday practice is poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we aimed to obtain information on how affected women deal with their symptoms, with a particular focus on medication choice, patterns of use, and self-perceived effectiveness of the treatments applied. We developed a questionnaire and conducted an online survey with affected women. The results were analysed quantitatively using descriptive statistics and qualitatively by content analysis with subsequent inductive category formation. The present explorative analysis focuses on 268 women who reported about gynaecological symptoms. Our study population consisted predominantly of young (21–30 years, 74%) female students. As a result, we received limited information about menopausal symptoms and therefore excluded these cases from the quantitative analyses. The majority (~ 50%) of women stated that they did not perceive significant impairment in their everyday life due to their ailments, although most of them reported to have severe symptoms. Only 18% of the women took sick leaves. However, it remained unclear if they stayed away from work for 1 or 2 days, which is possible in Germany. Almost a quarter (18%) did not treat their (severe) symptoms because they perceived it as something they had to endure. The women who utilized drugs predominantly took non-herbal medicines. Those who treated their symptoms with herbal medicines perceived their effectiveness and tolerability as very good. Unexpectedly, a considerable share of women reported not treating their ailments, and those who did were more likely to prefer non-herbal medicines. The awareness about available treatment options appeared limited, even within this predominantly young and highly educated study population. These findings may indicate gaps in patient information and communication regarding therapeutic options that could be improved by fostering the dialogue between patients and healthcare professionals. Furthermore, it is important that future studies be conducted in larger and more representative populations to robustly confirm these observations, in particular regarding herbal medicine use in menstrual ailments and uUTIs; findings on menopausal symptoms remain preliminary and qualitative in nature due to the small subgroup size.