Gains in body fat and vasomotor symptom reporting over the menopausal transition: the study of women's health across the nation.
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.
Thurston
Rebecca C
RC
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA. thurstonrc@upmc.edu
Sowers
MaryFran R
MR
Sternfeld
Barbara
B
Gold
Ellen B
EB
Bromberger
Joyce
J
Chang
Yuefang
Y
Joffe
Hadine
H
Crandall
Carolyn J
CJ
Waetjen
L Elaine
LE
Matthews
Karen A
KA
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
J Womens Health Gend Based Med. 2001 Jan-Feb;10(1):67-76
11224946
Clin Chem. 2002 Sep;48(9):1584-6
12194939
JAMA. 2002 Jul 17;288(3):321-33
12117397
Menopause. 2008 Sep-Oct;15(5):848-56
18562950
Climacteric. 2007 Feb;10(1):27-37
17364602
N Engl J Med. 1989 Sep 7;321(10):641-6
2488072
Menopause. 2008 May-Jun;15(3):429-34
18204407
Int J Behav Med. 2006;13(2):163-72
16712434
Menopause. 2008 Sep-Oct;15(5):841-7
18521049
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006 May;91(5):1789-95
16492698
Med Care. 2003 Nov;41(11):1262-76
14583689
Menopause. 2008 Jan-Feb;15(1):78-85
17554226
Am J Med. 2005 Dec 19;118 Suppl 12B:166-71
16414344
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Nov;90(11):6106-12
16144949
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2000 Sep;85(9):3276-82
10999822
J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2003 Sep;86(3-5):225-30
14623515
Am J Epidemiol. 2003 Aug 15;158(4):347-56
12915500
Public Health Nutr. 2009 Aug;12(8):1072-7
18789171
Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2001 Jun;25(6):863-73
11439301
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1990;592:52-86; discussion 123-33
2197954
Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 Sep;70(3):405-11
10479203
Am J Clin Nutr. 1985 Apr;41(4):810-7
3984933
JAMA. 2004 Jun 16;291(23):2847-50
15199035
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Apr;89(4):1555-61
15070912
J Gen Intern Med. 2004 Jul;19(7):740-6
15209587
Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2005 Oct;193(4):1353-60
16202725
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Mar;92(3):895-901
17192296
Int J Biometeorol. 1999 Nov;43(3):99-109
10639901
Mayo Clin Proc. 2004 Jun;79(6):777-81
15182093
Am J Clin Nutr. 1990 Oct;52(4):581-5
2403051
Am J Hum Biol. 2001 Jul-Aug;13(4):453-64
11400216
Obes Res. 2000 Sep;8(6):422-30
11011908
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Apr;88(4):1516-22
12679432
Menopause. 2003 Jan-Feb;10(1):19-28
12544673
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Jun;89(6):2548-56
15181022
Am J Epidemiol. 2008 Jan 1;167(1):78-85
17881385
Am J Public Health. 2006 Jul;96(7):1226-35
16735636
Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2002 Dec;26(12):1596-609
12461676