Older women still
suffer from hot flushes and night sweats years after the
menopause finds study
October
24, 2011--Women still have hot flushes and night sweats
years after the menopause finds a new study published
in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology.
Hot flushes and night sweats (HF/NS)
are the main physical signs of the menopause, however
their prevalence, frequency, severity and duration vary
considerably.
The average age of the menopause in
US and European women is 50-51 years and it is generally
assumed that HF/NS last between 2 to 5 years.
This study looked at 10,418
postmenopausal women (defined as more than 12 months
amenorrhea or hormone replacement therapy commenced for
menopausal symptoms) aged between 54 and 65.
The average age of the
participating women was 59 and the majority
were white, living in urban localities and
of slightly above average socioeconomic
status.
The study looked at the impact of
age, BMI, hysterectomy, hormone therapy use, lifestyle
and mood on women's experience of HF/NS.
The participating women completed a
questionnaire, which included sociodemographics, weight
and height, and medical history. Three and a half years
later, they were sent a follow up questionnaire asking
them about lifestyle factors, skirt size at age 20,
current skirt size, hot flushes and night sweats and
current hormone therapy (HT) use.
The majority (89.6%) of women had
experienced HF/NS at some time, more women having had
hot flushes (86%) than night sweats (78%).
However, over half
(54%) of the women were currently having HF/NS
and the prevalence was fairly even across
the age range. The frequency of HF/NS was
33.5 per week and this remained broadly at
this level across the age range.
The study also found that factors
such as previous hysterectomy, having been a smoker and
higher alcohol intake helped predict women who had ever
had HF/NS. Moreover, anxiety, hysterectomy, depressed
mood, years since last menstrual period and (less)
education helped predict current HF/NS prevalence.
Women who were currently taking HT
(12%) were less likely to report current HF/NS, while
past users who had discontinued HT were more likely to
have HF/NS across the age range.
Professor Myra Hunter, Institute of
Psychiatry, King's College London and co-author said:
"Our study looked at a large number
of older postmenopausal women and we were surprised to
find that menopausal symptoms persisted in over half of
the women. They were still having hot flushes on average
ten years after their last period.
"Age didn't seem to affect the
prevalence or frequency of the symptoms. Health
professionals need to be aware that women can still have
hot flushes and night sweats in their late 50s and 60s.
"There
is a need for effective non-hormonal treatments for
women with problematic hot flushes and night sweats, and
for women who have a recurrence of hot flushes after
they stop taking hormone therapy."
Professor Philip Steer, BJOG
editor-in-chief added:
"This paper highlights how many
older women continue to experience menopausal symptoms
and these may vary in severity and how they affect a
woman's quality of life. Interestingly age appears to be
less of a significant factor in predicting these
symptoms.
"There needs to be increased
awareness of this amongst women and health professionals
and more research into future treatments."
... ..
...
...
