• Please log in or register to access this feature.

Menopause

You have full text access to this OnlineOpen article

Prevalence, frequency and problem rating of hot flushes persist in older postmenopausal women: impact of age, body mass index, hysterectomy, hormone therapy use, lifestyle and mood in a cross-sectional cohort study of 10 418 British women aged 54–65

  1. MS Hunter1,
  2. A Gentry-Maharaj2,
  3. A Ryan2,
  4. M Burnell2,
  5. A Lanceley2,
  6. L Fraser2,
  7. I Jacobs2,
  8. U Menon2

Article first published online: 19 OCT 2011

DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.2011.03166.x

Issue

BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Volume 119, Issue 1, pages 40–50, January 2012

Additional Information

How to Cite

Hunter, M., Gentry-Maharaj, A., Ryan, A., Burnell, M., Lanceley, A., Fraser, L., Jacobs, I. and Menon, U. (2012), Prevalence, frequency and problem rating of hot flushes persist in older postmenopausal women: impact of age, body mass index, hysterectomy, hormone therapy use, lifestyle and mood in a cross-sectional cohort study of 10 418 British women aged 54–65. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 119: 40–50. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.2011.03166.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, London, UK

  2. 2

    Gynaecological Cancer Research Centre, UCL EGA Institute for Women’s Health, London, UK

*Prof. M Hunter, Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, 5th Floor Bermondsey Wing, Guy’s Campus, London Bridge, London SE1 9RT, UK. Email myra.hunter@kcl.ac.uk

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 13 DEC 2011
  2. Article first published online: 19 OCT 2011
  3. Accepted 17 August 2011. Published Online 19 October 2011.

SEARCH

SEARCH BY CITATION

ARTICLE TOOLS

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (232K)

Keywords:

  • Age;
  • body mass index;
  • education;
  • frequency;
  • hormone therapy;
  • hot flushes;
  • mood;
  • night sweats;
  • prevalence;
  • smoking;
  • vasomotor symptoms

Please cite this paper as: Hunter M, Gentry-Maharaj A, Ryan A, Burnell M, Lanceley A, Fraser L, Jacobs I, Menon U. Prevalence, frequency and problem rating of hot flushes persist in older postmenopausal women: impact of age, body mass index, hysterectomy, hormone therapy use, lifestyle and mood in a cross-sectional cohort study of 10 418 British women aged 54–65. BJOG 2012;119:40–50.

Objective  Hot flushes and night sweats (HFs/NSs) are the main menopausal symptoms, but few studies have been adequately powered to examine the dimensions or predictors of experiencing HFs/NSs. We report on these variables in a large UK cohort of postmenopausal women.

Design  Cross-sectional cohort study.

Setting  UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS) cohort.

Population  A cohort of 202 638 postmenopausal women, aged 50–74 years, without oophorectomy, recruited to UKCTOCS between 2001 and 2005.

Methods  Women completed a follow-up questionnaire, and those aged 54–65 years were mailed a survey in July 2008.

Main outcome measures  Hot flush prevalence and hot flush rating scale.

Results  Of the 15 000 women mailed, 10 418 returned completed questionnaires; 90% had previously had HFs/NSs. Despite being on average 10 years postmenopausal, 54% experienced HFs/NSs (frequency of 33 per week with mean problem rating 4/10) that persisted across the age range. Past hysterectomy (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.19–1.86), ever having smoked (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.11–1.46) and alcohol consumption (current units) (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.01–1.09) predicted ever having had HFs/NSs. Anxiety (OR 3.09, 95% CI 2.57–3.72), hysterectomy (OR 2.74, 95% CI 2.32–3.25), depressed mood (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.24–1.99), years since last menstrual period (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.94–0.96) and education (above and below 18 years) (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.97–0.99) predicted the current prevalence of HFs/NSs. Few predictors of frequency were identified, but problem rating was associated with depressed mood, hysterectomy, skirt size increase and frequency of HFs/NSs. Past hormone therapy users who had discontinued treatment were more likely to have HFs/NSs that were more frequent and problematic.

Conclusions  To date, this is the largest UK study of the experience of HFs/NSs amongst older postmenopausal women. HFs/NSs are more prevalent in this age band than has previously been assumed. These findings and the associations of smoking, hysterectomy, anxiety, depressed mood and hormone therapy use with the experience of HFs/NSs have implications for prevention and symptom management.

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (232K)