Menopausal Symptoms Last Longer Than Realized.. May Last Up To 13 Years ~Yikes!!! (1088 hits)
..."Previous research has given widely disparate estimations on the duration of VMS. The authors of the current study note that a recent report from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology suggested that most women experience VMS for 6 months to 2 years around the menopausal transition. However, some research, particularly studies that include younger women and higher proportions of racial and ethnic minorities, has demonstrated a substantially longer mean duration of VMS. ...
Up to 80% of women experience VMS, and many seek relief. The duration of VMS affects healthcare decisions, such as when to begin and how long to undergo hormone replacement therapy. Many sources of information for patients state that hot flashes and night sweats last 3 to 5 years. Clinical guidelines maintain that most women experience VMS for 6 months to 2 years, but anecdotal reports as well as epidemiologic studies place the duration at up to 13 years. ...
Study Highlights
Recruitment for SWAN began in 1995. Women between 42 and 52 years old who had at least 1 menstrual period in the previous 3 months were eligible for study participation. Women with a hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy or those who began hormone therapy before the onset of VMS were excluded from the present analysis.
Women were followed up at annual visits for up to 13 years after study entry. They were observed for a number of health outcomes.
The presence of VMS was recorded as part of the study protocol. The current study focuses only on women with frequent VMS, as defined by symptoms on at least 6 days during the past 2 weeks.
The main study outcome was the duration of frequent VMS, both in total time and time after the known last menstrual period.
Women who reported VMS at a visit only were assigned a symptom duration of 0.5 year. Cessation of VMS was defined as no report of symptoms on 2 consecutive visits among women not receiving hormone therapy.
Researchers performed analyses on their study results based on demographic, psychosocial, and health habit data.
From a total of 3302 women in SWAN, 1449 met criteria for study analysis. The cohort was diverse in race and ethnicity by intention of the investigators.
The median total duration of VMS was 7.4 years. The unadjusted duration of VMS after the last menstrual period was 4.5 years.
Earlier incidence of VMS predicted a longer duration of symptoms. The median duration of VMS among women who were premenopausal or early in perimenopause when first experiencing VMS exceeded 11.8 years, and the median duration of VMS after the last menstrual period in this cohort was 9.4 years.
African American race was associated with a significantly longer total duration of VMS symptoms (median, 10.1 years), whereas Japanese and Chinese women experienced shorter durations of VMS (4.8 and 5.4 years, respectively).
Other variables associated with a longer duration of VMS included higher VMS perceived symptom severity and higher levels of anxiety, perceived stress, and depression.
Higher educational attainment was significantly associated with a shorter duration of VMS.
Leisure-time physical activity and alcohol consumption did not affect the duration of VMS.
Clinical Implications
VMS may affect up to 80% of women during the menopausal transition, and most women rate their VMS symptoms as moderate or severe. VMS are associated with higher risks for cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, and there is disagreement regarding the average duration of VMS.
The current study by Avis and colleagues demonstrates that the median duration of VMS was 7.4 years in a large cohort of women. African American women experienced a longer median duration of VMS, and earlier incidence of VMS in the menopausal transition also predicted a longer duration of symptoms.
