title: Risk factors related to the presence and severity of hot flushes in mid-aged Ecuadorian women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several studies drawn from the Ecuadorian population have previously reported that more than half of mid-aged women present hot flushes, which can impair their quality of life. However up-to-date risk factors for their presence and severity have not been assessed.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess hot flush frequency and intensity and related risk factors among middle-aged Ecuadorian women.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this cross-sectional study, 1154 healthy women aged 40-59 years, visiting healthcare centers of eight main cities of Ecuador with more than 100,000 inhabitants, were assessed with the first item of the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) and a questionnaire containing female and partner socio-demographic data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean age of the entire sample was 48.8+/-5.6 years (median 48), a 48.7% had 12 or less years of schooling, 52.8% were postmenopausal, 43.6% lived at high altitude, 56.8% were married and 10% were on hormonal therapy (HT). Hot flushes accounted for 56% (n=646) of the whole sample, of which 29.1% and 9.1% were respectively graded as severe and very severe. Logistic regression determined that female sedentarism (OR: 2.42, CI 95% [1.63-3.59]), accessing a free healthcare system (OR: 1.96, CI 95% [1.30-2.96]), living at high altitude (OR: 1.82, CI 95% [1.14-2.90]) and having a partner abusing alcohol (OR: 1.92, CI 95% [1.09-3.35]) were significant risk factors related to the presence of hot flushes. The regression model also determined that among women with hot flushes (n=646), sedentarism (OR: 1.73, CI 95% [1.14-2.62]) and having a partner with erectile dysfunction (OR: 2.57, CI 95% [1.44-4.59]) were significant risk factors related to severe/very severe hot flushes whereas married status (OR: 0.53, CI 95% [0.32-0.86]), living at high altitude (OR: 0.46, CI 95% [0.26-0.78]) and partner healthiness (OR: 0.59, CI 95% [0.36-0.95]) were not.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To the best of our knowledge this is the first and largest study assessing hot flushes in a mid-aged Ecuadorian population. We found that the presence and severity were not significantly related to age and hormonal status yet to other individual female/male characteristics and the demography of the studied population.
authors.affiliation: Research Group for the Ecuadorian Climacteric & Menopause Society (SECLIM), Ecuador. peterchedraui@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chedraui
authors.forename: Wellington
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Aguirre
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Calle
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hidalgo
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: León-León
authors.forename: Octavio
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.forename: Nalo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mendoza
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Narváez
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: Gino
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schwager
authors.forename: Juan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Quintero
authors.forename: Branly
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zambrano
authors.forename: Aida
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aguilar
authors.forename: María A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rivera
authors.forename: Iván
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ruilova
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004484:Ecuador / Q000453:epidemiology; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D005260:Female; D019584:Hot Flashes / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors