title: Gains in body fat and vasomotor symptom reporting over the menopausal transition: the study of women's health across the nation.
abstract: Although most women report vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes, night sweats) during midlife, their etiology and risk factors are incompletely understood. Body fat is positively associated with vasomotor symptoms cross-sectionally, but the longitudinal relation between changes in body fat and vasomotor symptoms is uncharacterized. The study aim was to examine whether gains in body fat were related to vasomotor symptom reporting over time. Measures of bioelectrical impedance for body fat, reproductive hormones, and reported vasomotor symptoms were assessed annually over 4 years from 2002 to 2006 among 1,659 women aged 47-59 years participating in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. Body fat change was examined in relation to vasomotor symptoms by using generalized estimating equations. Body fat gains were associated with greater odds of reporting hot flashes in models adjusted for age, site, race/ethnicity, education, smoking, parity, anxiety, and menopausal status (relative to stable body fat, gain: odds ratio = 1.23, 95% confidence interval: 1.02, 1.48; P = 0.03; loss: odds ratio = 1.07, 95% confidence interval: 0.89, 1.29; P = 0.45). Findings persisted controlling for estradiol, the free estradiol index, or follicle-stimulating hormone concentrations. The relations between body fat changes and night sweats were not statistically significant. Body fat gains are associated with greater hot flash reporting during the menopausal transition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA. thurstonrc@upmc.edu
authors.forename: Rebecca C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Thurston
authors.forename: MaryFran R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sowers
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sternfeld
authors.forename: Ellen B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Gold
authors.forename: Joyce
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bromberger
authors.forename: Yuefang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Hadine
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Joffe
authors.forename: Carolyn J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Crandall
authors.forename: L Elaine
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Waetjen
authors.forename: Karen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Matthews
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity; D000328:Adult; D001823:Body Composition; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D019584:Hot Flashes / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013546:Sweating; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D015430:Weight Gain; D016387:Women's Health
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