Climacteric vasomotor symptoms do not predict nocturnal breathing abnormalities in postmenopausal women.
OBJECTIVE
To study the association of climacteric vasomotor symptoms and nocturnal breathing abnormalities in a sample of healthy postmenopausal women.


METHODS
Out of 71 postmenopausal women who took part in a large sleep study, 65 women were included into the present study. Sleep was monitored with polysomnography and nocturnal breathing with a static-charge sensitive bed and a pulse oximeter. Climacteric vasomotor symptoms were scored daily for 14 days and levels of oestradiol and FSH were measured in the serum.


RESULTS
Altogether 21 (32.3%) women had some degree of breathing abnormalities during the study night. The occurrence of clinically significant sleep apnoea was low (1.5%) and of moderate type (OP-2). In contrast, increased respiratory resistance pattern, typical for partial upper airway obstruction, was frequent (16.9%). Seventy-eight per cent of the women had arterial oxyhaemoglobin desaturation events, but only in 4.6% of the women these events occurred more than 5 times/h of time in bed. Older women had more simple periodic breathing (P-1) and lower mean arterial oxyhaemoglobin saturation (SaO(2)). Body mass index (BMI) correlated with the apnoea frequency (OP-2) and inversely with the mean SaO(2). The severity of climacteric vasomotor symptoms or serum oestradiol concentration did not correlate with nocturnal breathing abnormalities.


CONCLUSIONS
Nocturnal breathing abnormalities, especially partial upper airway obstruction, are common in postmenopausal women, but climacteric vasomotor symptoms do not predict their occurrence or severity. Increasing age and high BMI are important determinants of nocturnal breathing abnormalities.
Polo-Kantola
P
P
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Turku University Central Hospital, FIN-20520 Turku, Finland. paivi.polo-kantola@tyks.fi
Rauhala
E
E
Saaresranta
T
T
Aittokallio
T
T
Erkkola
R
R
Polo
O
O
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone / Q000097:blood; D019584:Hot Flashes / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010108:Oxyhemoglobins; D017698:Postmenopause; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000503:physiopathology*
D010108:Oxyhemoglobins; D004958:Estradiol; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone