The International Menopause Study of Climate, Altitude, Temperature (IMS-CAT) and vasomotor symptoms

ABSTRACT Objective To examine the relationship between climate (including altitude, temperature, humidity and annual range of temperature) and experience of hot flushes and night sweats amongst Spanish-speaking mid-aged women living in five urban centers. Methods A total of 896 peri- and postmenopau...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopause Society 2013-02, Vol.16 (1), p.8-16
Main Authors: Hunter, M. S., Gupta, P., Chedraui, P., Blümel, J. E., Tserotas, K., Aguirre, W., Palacios, S., Sturdee, D. W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Factors
ALTITUDE
Analysis of Variance
Chi-Square Distribution
Chile
CLIMATE
Confidence Intervals
Correlation analysis
Ecuador
Exercise
Female
Food
Hot Flashes - epidemiology
HOT FLUSHES
Humans
Hyperhidrosis - epidemiology
Language
MENOPAUSE
Middle age
Middle Aged
Odds Ratio
Panama
Perimenopause - physiology
Perimenopause - psychology
Postmenopause - physiology
Postmenopause - psychology
Prevalence
Spain
TEMPERATURE
Urban areas
Urban Population
VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS
Vasomotor System - physiology
Women
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:ABSTRACT Objective To examine the relationship between climate (including altitude, temperature, humidity and annual range of temperature) and experience of hot flushes and night sweats amongst Spanish-speaking mid-aged women living in five urban centers. Methods A total of 896 peri- and postmenopausal women from centers in Chile (Santiago de Chile), Ecuador (Guayaquil and Quito), Panama (Panama City) and Spain (Madrid) completed questionnaires eliciting information about sociodemographics, hot flushes (prevalence, frequency and problem-rating), health and lifestyle (body mass index, diet, exercise, alcohol use) and mood (Women's Health Questionnaire). Results There was a wide range of altitude and temperature in the participating centers. Of the sample, 58.5% (524/896) were currently experiencing vasomotor symptoms. Prevalence was associated with higher temperatures, while hot flushes were more frequent and problematic for women living in higher temperature and lower altitudes. Hot flush variables were not associated with seasonal variation in temperature. When health and lifestyle variables were included as covariates in regression analyses, prevalence was best predicted by age (younger), poor general health, more depressed mood and anxiety; hot flush frequency by anxiety, temperature, life satisfaction (lower), age (higher), regular strenuous exercise (more strenuous exercise more frequent), and a diet including regular hot spicy food intake. Hot flush problem-rating was best predicted by anxiety, life satisfaction, altitude (lower more problematic), any regular exercise (more exercise less problematic), and depressed mood. Conclusions In this study of Spanish-speaking women, those living in countries with higher temperatures and lower altitudes reported more frequent and problematic hot flushes.
ISSN:1369-7137
1473-0804
DOI:10.3109/13697137.2012.699563