title: The Association between Body Mass Index and Hot Flash in Midlife Women: A Meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The association between body mass index (BMI) and hot flash risk has not been specifically clarifies yet. This meta-analysis was, therefore, conducted to estimate the association between overweight and obesity and hot flash risk.
  
  
  METHODS
  We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus for observational studies addressing the association between BMI and hot flash until August 2015. Data were independently extracted and analyzed using 95% odds ratio (OR), and confidence intervals (CI) based on the random-effects models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 2,244 references and conducted seven studies with 4,219 participants. The association between hot flash and overweight was estimated 1.13 (95% CI: 0.97-1.32) and that of obesity was estimated 1.79 (95% CI: 1.52-2.11). No evidence of heterogeneity and publication bias was observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This meta-analysis demonstrated that, though not to a great extent, obesity does increase the risk of hot flash. The findings from this meta-analysis indicated that obesity is associated with an increased risk of hot flash. Further large prospective cohort studies are required to provide convincing evidence as to whether or not BMI is associated with an increased risk of hot flashes.
authors.affiliation: Mother and Child Care Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shobeiri
authors.affiliation: Mother and Child Care Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
authors.forename: Ensiyeh
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jenabi
authors.affiliation: Modeling of Noncommunicable Diseases Research Center, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
authors.forename: Jalal
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Poorolajal
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Health Sciences, Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyyed Mohammad Mahdi
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hazavehei
keywords: Body mass index; Case-control studies; Cohort studies; Hot flashes; Meta-analysis