Risk factors related to the presence and severity of hot flushes in mid-aged Ecuadorian women.
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.
Chedraui
Peter
P
Research Group for the Ecuadorian Climacteric & Menopause Society (SECLIM), Ecuador. peterchedraui@yahoo.com
Aguirre
Wellington
W
Calle
Andrés
A
Hidalgo
Luis
L
León-León
Patricia
P
Miranda
Octavio
O
Martínez
Nalo
N
Mendoza
Marcela
M
Narváez
Jorge
J
Sánchez
Hugo
H
Schwager
Gino
G
Quintero
Juan C
JC
Zambrano
Branly
B
Aguilar
Aida
A
Martínez
María A
MA
Rivera
Ruth
R
Ruilova
Iván
I
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