Backgroud: As perimenopausal syndrome is a particularly disturbing condition to the patient, it is practical and necessary to establish a program of comprehensive traditional Chinese medicine therapy for women with perimenopausal syndrome.
Objective: To observe the therapeutic effects of a comprehensive traditional Chinese medicine therapy for women with perimenopausal syndrome in the community.
Design, setting, participants and interventions: Women with perimenopausal syndrome who met the inclusion criteria in 3 communities of Shanghai were selected for this study. Comprehensive traditional Chinese medicine therapy, including administration of Chinese herbs, auricular point therapy, psychological counseling and the practice of Tai Chi, was applied for these women.
Main outcome measures: The modified Kupperman index was measured once every 4 weeks for 12 weeks; the indexes of menopause-specific quality of life (MENQOL) questionnaire were measured before and after the treatment.
Results: There was no significant difference in 4 groups of negative conversion ratio of the modified Kupperman index at the 4th, 8th and 12th week, respectively. The indexes of the MENQOL questionnaire showed significant differences in 4 groups before and after the treatment. The overall efficacy rate of the comprehensive traditional Chinese medicine therapy in women with perimenopausal syndrome achieved 97.84% at the 8th and the 12th week.
Conclusion: The comprehensive traditional Chinese medicine therapy can achieve significant improvements in women with perimenopausal syndrome who exhibit both physical and psychological symptoms. With such significant clinical effects, the comprehensive traditional Chinese medicine therapy should be promoted in the community.

Key words: perimenopause, therapeutic methods of traditional Chinese medicine, community medicine, questionnaires