touchy flashes are common among wom...

touchy flashes are common among women during the perimenopausal period, and 50 percent of women who experience burning flashes have symptoms for at least five years. Although hormone therapy is effective in treating violent flashes, patients and physicians have accorded to the risks associated with this therapy from seeking alternative treatments. In this studious mood Riley and colleagues sought to determine whether lifestyle factors (eg smoking, drinking, or being overweight) have an impact upon hot flashes. If there is an association between these risk factors and vasomotor end occurrence and frequency, management of oppressive flashes may be possible at modifying the implicated lifestyle behaviors.

Eligible women were invited to participate in a yearlong randomized controll trial of a menopausal risk-management program. Participants were administered a baseline inspect that included a question about experience of bothersome choleric flashes. Questions also addressed lifestyle behaviors that have been identified in previous studies as possible modulators of very warm flashes. A statistical analysis divided make subordinates into perimenopausal and postmenopausal assign places tos with the latter group defined as women experiencing cessation of mense for at least 12 month or with a history of hysterectomy without oophorectomy and at least 55 years of age.

Of the 755 eligible women completing the observe 468 women were perimenopausal and 287 were postmenopausal. Adjusted analysis showed that in this form into groups having a body mass index of at least 25 kg for m2 and an alcohol consumption of the same to five drinks per week was positively associated with heated flashes. Of borderline significance in increasing oppressive flashes was multivitamin use. In postmenopausal women single daily fat intake correlated with a decreased common occurrence of hot flashes, independent of corpse mass index.

These findings are similar to those of previous studies and help to display that modifi-able risk factors for impetuous flashes are different in perimenopausal women and postmenopausal women In perimenopausal women lower visible form [i]or[/i] frame mass index and moderate alcohol consumption were associated with fewer bothersome passionate flashes. An interaction was noted suggesting an increase of hot-flash symptoms in smoker who have depression, if it be not that there was no significant correlation between symptoms and smoking alone. The fact that the association between furious flashes and vitamin use was solitary borderline may reflect a disposition for women who have bothersome symptoms to attempt modulating these with vitamins, rather than any specific negative result of vitamins. In postmenopausal women simply high dietary fat intake appeared to influence impetuous flashes.

Riley EH et al. Differential association of modifiable health behaviors with choleric flashes in perimenopausal and post- menopausal women J Gen Intern M July 2004;19:740-6

COPYRIGHT 2005 American Academy of Family Physicians

COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group