Physical activity and risk of vasomotor symptoms in women with and without a history of depression: results from the Harvard Study of Moods and Cycles.
OBJECTIVE
To examine whether physical activity was associated with decreased risk of vasomotor symptoms in a prospective study of women transitioning through menopause.


METHODS
Hypotheses were evaluated in the Harvard Study of Moods and Cycles, a longitudinal study of women with and without a history of major depression (N = 523). Ordinal logistic regression models were utilized to assess the odds of vasomotor symptoms (none, mild, moderate/severe; Greene Climacteric Scale) associated with physical activity (quartiles of metabolic equivalent-hours per week) at study enrollment and over a 3- to 5-year follow-up period.


RESULTS
No significant associations between physical activity and vasomotor symptoms were observed for the sample as a whole. However, exploratory analyses stratified by depression history revealed that among the 157 women with a lifetime history of major depression, high (odds ratio [OR] = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.09-0.83) or moderately high (OR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.11-0.99) physical activity proximal to the vasomotor assessment, as well as consistently high (OR = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.10-0.75) or increasing (OR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.12-0.92) physical activity over the duration of the 3- to 5-year follow-up period was associated with decreased vasomotor symptoms relative to sedentary behavior. No significant associations were observed for women without a history of depression.


CONCLUSIONS
Physical activity may be associated with decreased risk of vasomotor symptoms among women with a history of major depression.
Thurston
Rebecca C
RC
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. thurstonrc@upmc.edu
Joffe
Hadine
H
Soares
Claudio N
CN
Harlow
Bernard L
BL
D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications*; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D019584:Hot Flashes / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008404:Massachusetts / Q000453:epidemiology; D008593:Menopause; D009043:Motor Activity; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires